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THE  BIBLE  FOR  HOME  AND  SCHOOL 
SHAILER  MATHEWS,  General  Editor 

DEAN  OF  THE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL,  THE  tJNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE 

ROMANS 

EDWARD  INCREASE  BOSWORTH 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

K«W  YORK  •   BOSTON  •   CHICAGO  -   DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltdw 

TORONTO 


THE  BIBLE  FOR  HOME  AMD  SCHOOL 


COMMENTARY  I      JLIN  13  19lfl 

ON —  ^^oemim'!^ 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 
TO  THE  ROMANS 


BY    , 
EDWARD  INCREASE  BOSWORTH,  D.D. 

SENIOR  DEAN  OF  THE  FACULTY,  AND  MORGAN  PROFESSOR  OF  THE 

NEW  TESTAMENT  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE,  OBERLIN 

GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  THEOLOGY 


^eto  |?orfe 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1919 


Copyright,  1919 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  May,  1919. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION 

The  Bible  for  Home  and  School  is  intended  to 
place  the  results  of  the  best  modern  biblical  scholar- 
ship at  the  disposal  of  the  general  reader.  It  does  not 
seek  to  duplicate  other  commentaries  to  which  the  stu- 
dent must  turn.  Its  chief  characteristics  are  (a)  its 
rigid  exclusion  of  all  processes,  both  critical  and  exeget- 
ical,  from  its  notes;  (6)  its  presupposition  and  its  use 
of  the  assured  results  of  historical  investigation  and 
criticism  wherever  such  results  throw  light  on  the 
biblical  text;  {c)  its  running  analysis  both  in  text  and 
comment;  {d)  its  brief  explanatory  notes  adapted  to 
the  rapid  reader;  {e)  its  thorough  but  brief  Introduc- 
tions; (/)  its  use  of  the  Revised  Version  of  i88i,  sup- 
plemented with  all  important  renderings  in  other 
versions. 

Biblical  science  has  progressed  rapidly  during  the 
past  few  years,  but  the  reader  still  lacks  a  brief,  com- 
prehensive commentary  that  shall  extend  to  him  in 
usable  form  material  now  at  the  disposition  of  the 
student.  It  is  hoped  that  in  this  series  the  needs  of 
intelligent  Sunday  School  teachers  have  been  met,  as 
well  as  those  of  clergymen  and  lay  readers,  and  that  in 
scope,  purpose,  and  loyalty  to  the  Scriptures  as  a 
foundation  of  Christian  thought  and  life,  its  volumes 
will  stimulate  the  intelligent  use  of  the  Bible  in  the 
home  and  the  school. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

General  Introduction v 

I.  Paul 

1.  His  Religious  Experience i 

2.  The  Author  of  Romans 20 

II.  The  Church  in  Rome      . 23 

1.  The  Jews  in  Rome 23 

2.  The  Early  Christians  in  Rome     ....  24 

3.  Membership  of  the  Church  when  Romans  was 

Written 29 

III.  Date  and  Place  of  Writing 34 

IV.  Purpose  of  the  Letter 36 

V.  Main  Ideas  of  the  Letter 44 

VI.  Relation  of  Romans  to  Galatians          ....  54 

VII.  Romans  and  Modern  Religious  Experience        .        .  58 

VIII.  Integrity 62 

IX.  Analysis 76 

X.  Bibliography 82 

Text  and  Commentary 87 

Passages  Referred  to 267 

Index •....  267 


THE  EPISTLE  OF   PAUL 
TO  THE  ROMANS 

L  PAUL 

I.  His  Religious  Experience. 

The  intense  fervor  of  Paul's  writings  shows  that 
they  were  in  large  measure  the  product  of  a  profound 
religious  experience.  In  order  to  understand  them  it 
is  therefore  necessary  to  discuss  briefly  the  outstanding 
features  of  his  religious  experience.  It  is  perhaps  better 
to  say  that  what  appears  in  Paul's  writings  is  his  own 
interpretation  of  his  experience  made  with  reference 
to  reproducing  it  in  the  lives  of  other  men.  A  man's 
interpretation  of  his  own  experience  is  necessarily  de- 
termined by,  and  expressed  in  the  terms  of,  the  pre- 
suppositions of  his  thought,  the  things  he  assumes 
without  question. 

(i)  The  main  presuppositions  of  PauVs  thought. 
The  pre-suppositions  of  a  man's  thought  usually  can- 
not be  stated  with  precision  because  they  are  seldom 
explicitly  reported  and  not  always  even  consciously 
recognized  by  the  man  himself.  In  the  case  of  Paul, 
moreover,  the  revolutionary  experience  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  Christian  life  was  a  disturbing  element  the 
exact  effect  of  which  on  his  pre-suppositions  is  not 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


entirely  clear.  The  following  appear  with  reasonable 
distinctness.  They  may  be  traced  in  his  letters  and 
in  non-Christian  Jewish  literature  of  the  period  200 
B.  C.  to  100  A.  D.* 

(a)  Paul  always  assumed,  both  before  and  after  he 
became  a  Christian,  the  existence  of  God,  a  supreme, 
all  powerful  (I  Cor.  8:6),  all-wise  and  merciful  (Rom. 
1 1 :  32-36)  personal  being  whose  domain  centered  in 
the  heavens  but  included  the  earth  and  "all  things." 

(b)  There  were  at  least  three  heavens  (II  Cor. 
12:  2,  4)  and  probably  seven,  as  in  the  Testaments  of 
the  12  Patriarchs  (e.g.,  Levi.  3:  i),  a  book  with  which 
Paul  must  have  been  familiar,  and  in  the  Secrets  of 
Enoch  where  the  third  heaven  is  Paradise  (cf.  II  Cor. 
12:2,  4)  with  its  "blessed  singing"  of  the  300  angels 
(8:1,  8)  whose  unspeakable  words  man  might  not 
utter  (II  Cor.  12:  4).  There  were  also  regions  below 
the  earth  (Phil.  2: 10). 

(c)  In  the  higher  heavens  was  the  "glory"  of  God 
which  men  had  come  short  of  (Rom.  3: 23),  a  kind  of 
existence  enjoyed  by  God  and  other  heavenly  beings, 
involving  moral  excellence  and  also  a  kind  of  semi- 
physical  radiant  light  (II  Cor.  11:14)  that  could  shine 
in  the  face  of  the  glorified  Jesus  (II  Cor.  4:4-6)  and 
that  could  be  shared  by  the  world  of  nature  (Rom. 
8:21). 

(d)  This  morally  blessed  radiant  existence  is  char- 
acteristic of  good  "spirit"  as  contrasted  with  "flesh" 

*  Almost  all  of  the  non-Christian  writings  cited  may  be  found 
in  "The  Apocrypha  and  Pseudepigrapha  of  the  Old  Testament" 
edited  by  R.  H.  Charles,  published  in  1913. 

2 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


(not  of  evil  spirit,  cf.  Eph.  6:  12).  In  the  heavens 
there  are  lordly  angels,  "thrones,"  "dominions," 
"principalities,"  "powers"  (Col.  1:16,  Testaments, 
etc.,  Levi  3:8;  Secrets  of  Enoch  20:1),  "the  arch- 
angel" (I  Thess.  4:16).  Only  spirit  bodies  (I  Cor. 
15 :  44) ,  not  flesh  bodies,  can  enter  the  glorious  heavens 
(I  Cor.  15:50;  Rom.  8:23;  Phil.  3:21). 

(e)  Through  the  earth,  dark  (Eph.  6:  12)  as  con- 
trasted with  the  radiant  upper  heavens,  the  evil  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air  ranges  (Eph.  2:2;  6:  12;  the 
second  heaven,  Secrets  of  Enoch,  ch.  7) ,  or  in  the  firma- 
ment below  the  first  heaven  and  the  air  just  above  the 
earth  where  they  are  "envying,"  "fighting,"  "plund- 
ering," "doing  violence"  to  one  another  (Ascension 
of  Isaiah  10:29-30).  The  evil  prince  blinds  men's 
spiritual  vision  (II  Cor.  4:4),  hinders  the  messengers 
of  God  in  their  travels  (I  Thess.  2: 18)  and  inflicts 
disease  upon  the  human  body  (II  Cor.  12:7;  I  Cor. 
5:5).  "Sin,"  and  perhaps  "Death,"  sometimes  seem 
to  be  personal  agents  of  the  evil  prince,  producing  the 
common  phenomena  sin  and  death  that  give  them 
their  names  (Rom.  6-7).  The  "elements, "  or  "rudi- 
ments," seem  also  to  be  personal  lords  of  the  flesh 
age,  agents  of  the  evil  prince  (Gal.  4:3,  9;  Col. 
2:8,  20).  At  least  they  become  sources  of  evil  when 
they  are  deified. 

(f )  On  the  other  hand  the  good  powers  of  the  spiri- 
tual world  may  operate  directly  upon  life  in  such  at 
way  as  to  result  in  the  occurrence  of  "signs,  wonders 
and  mighty  works,"  that  is,  miracles  (II  Cor.  12: 12- 
13;  I  Cor.  12:4-11). 

3 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


(g)  The  history  of  man  on  the  earth  is  divided  into 
two  ages;  this  present  evil  age  of  flesh  (Gal.  1:4; 
II  Cor.  4:4)  and  the  Coming  Age  of  spirit  which  will 
be  introduced  by  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  from 
heaven  (I  Thess.  4:  16-17).  Adam,  the  founder  of 
the  human  race,  had  introduced  sin  and  death  into 
all  subsequent  generations  of  the  present  age  according 
to  the  account  in  Genesis  {Apocalypse  of  Baruch  54: 15, 
i9;4Esdras7:  ii8-ii9;Rom.  5:  12).  Back  of  Adam, 
however,  were  the  great  cosmic  evil  beings,  already 
mentioned,  who  appear  also  in  Genesis  in  the  serpent 
form.  In  their  vast  domain  of  darkness  Adam  and 
his  race  were  items.  At  the  end  of  the  age  they  and 
all  theirs  would  be  overthrown  in  the  terrible  "wrath 
of  God"  to  be  experienced  at  the  Messiah's  judgment 
day. 

(h)  Before  Paul  became  a  Christian  he  had  a  con- 
ception of  this  Messiah.  It  is  impossible  to  tell 
exactly  what  it  was,  for  the  literature  of  the  period 
shows  that  there  were  various  messianic  conceptions 
current  among  the  Jews.  Our  clue  is  found  in  the 
ideas  that  appear  in  Paul's  letters.  The  messianic 
conception  that  appears  in  them  would  be  one  that  he 
had  always  held,  modified  by  two  possible  influences: 
first,  the  character  and  teaching  of  Jesus  and,  second, 
Paul's  tendency  to  make  some  speculative  additions 
of  his  own  in  the  process  of  working  out  a  Christian 
apologetic  for  use  in  missionary  preaching.  To  make 
such  speculative  additions  would  have  been  thoroughly 
in  accord  with  his  confidence  in  the  "word  of  wisdom  " 
and  the  "word  of  knowledge"  that  came  as  "gifts" 

4 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


from  the  Spirit  (I  Cor.  12:8;  cf.  2:8-13).  Reading 
Paul's  letters  in  the  light  of  current  Jewish  literature 
of  the  period,  it  appears  that  he  began  the  Christian 
life  with  the  pre-supposition  that  the  Messiah  was  a 
sinless  being  (II  Cor.  5:21;  Testaments  of  the  12  Pa- 
triarchs, Judah  24:  I ;  Psalms  of  Solomon  17:  41)  who 
lived  in  heaven  with  God  in  glory  (Phil.  2:6;  Enoch 
48:2-3;  70:1-2;  4  Esdras  14:9).  Later,  in  his 
Christian  period,  Paul  conceived  this  heavenly  Christ 
to  have  held  a  unique  position  as  God's  agent  in  the 
creation  of  all  things  even  of  the  lordly  archangels 
(Col.  1:15-17).  In  Jewish  literature  "Wisdom," 
''the  Word"  and  "the  Spirit,"  but  not  the  Messiah, 
are  connected  with  the  creation  of  the  world.  Paul's 
ascription  of  the  creative  function  to  the  Christ  may 
therefore  have  been  a  product  either  of  his  own  Chris- 
tian thought  or  that  of  other  early  Christians.  The 
chief  function  of  the  Christ  was  to  come  from  heaven 
with  a  company  of  angels  (I  Thess.  3: 13;  cf.  Enoch 
1:9)  to  execute  a  judgment  that  would  establish 
righteousness  in  the  earth  and  make  the  purified  Jew- 
ish nation  supreme  in  the  kingdom  of  God  {Ps.  Solo- 
mon 17:23-46).  As  has  been  said,  Paul  in  his  pre- 
Christian  days  already  probably  conceived  of  this 
judgment  as  one  that  would  end  the  present  age  of 
flesh,  provide  the  righteous,  living  and  dead,  with 
bodies  of  heavenly  glory  and  introduce  the  New  Age 
of  spirit  (Phil.  3:20-21;  Rom.  8:23;  I  Thess.  4:16; 
I  Cor.  15 :  50-53 ;  Apocalypse  of  Baruch  30 : 1-3 ;  51 :  i- 
4;  Enoch  45:4-5;  62:15-16;  108:11-12;  Secrets  of 
Enoch  66:  7-8).     The  forces  of  evil  in  this  judgment, 

5 


THE  EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 


especially  Satan  and  bad  angels,  would  be  overthrown 
(Rom.  16:20;  I  Cor.  6:3;  Testaments  of  the  12  Pa- 
triarchs, Levi  18:  12);  the  decaying,  death-smitten 
material  creation  would  be  transformed  into  some- 
thing radiant  and  deathless  (Rom.  8:19-22;  Enoch 
45:4-5;  91: 16-17). 

(i)  It  was  a  pre-supposition  of  Paul  in  his  pre- 
Christian  days  that  the  righteousness  to  be  made 
secure  forevermore  by  the  messianic  judgment  would 
consist  in  the  punctillious  fulfilment  of  the  holy,  eter- 
nal will  of  God,  expressed  in  the  unchangeable  law  of 
Moses  as  interpreted  by  many  generations  of  devout 
learned  rabbis  (Gal.  i :  14). 

(j)  God  had  seen  to  it  that  all  of  the  Jewish  scrip- 
tures should  have  reference  to  the  needs  of  coming 
generations  (Rom.  4:23-24;  15:4),  sometimes  with 
very  little  regard  for  what  seemed  to  be  their  original 
and  natural  application  (I  Cor.  9:9-10).  The  real 
meaning  of  the  scriptures  must  sometimes  be  ascer- 
tained through  skilful  use  of  the  allegorical  method  of 
interpretation  (Gal.  4:21-31).  Their  statements 
were  absolutely  authoritative  no  matter  how  contrary 
to  reason  they  might  seem  to  be  (Rom.  9:  14-21). 

(k)  The  Jews,  who  were  entrusted  with  the  sacred 
oracles  of  this  law  (Rom.  2:  20;  3:2),  had  been  given 
by  God  a  distinct  primacy  among  the  nations  (Rom. 
1 :  16 ;  3 :  I ;  9 :  4-5 ;  1 1 :  i ,  16-18 ;  Apocalypse  of  Baruch 
82:2-9).  Iri  Paul's  Christian  period  he  came  to  feel 
that  the  primacy  would  terminate  with  the  end  of  the 
present  age  and  disappear  together  with  the  distinction 
between  male  and   female,   bond -slave   and   master 

6 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


(Col.  3:  II;  Gal.  3:28).  In  a  sense  therefore  these 
distinctions  could  be  ignored  before  the  end  of  the  age 
(Gal.  3:  28;  II  Cor.  5:  16-17),  yet  in  another  sense  not 
(I  Cor.  11:3;  Col.  3:  18,  22;  Rom.  11:  18). 

(1)  Paul's  readiness  later,  as  a  Christian  apostle, 
to  go  to  the  Gentiles  gives  rise  to  the  surmise  that  in 
his  pre-Christian  days  he,  like  the  author  of  the  Testa- 
ments of  the  12  Patriarchs  (Levi.  4:4114:4;  Benj .  10:5), 
thought  of  the  messianic  kingdom  as  destined  by  God 
to  include  many  Gentiles,  of  course  as  proselytes  keep- 
ing the  law  the  light  of  which  was  "given  to  lighten 
every  man"  {Testaments,  Levi  14:4).  Did  he  think 
that  they  would  be  circumcised  and  keep  all  the 
details  of  the  law,  or  simply  worship  Jehovah  with- 
out circumcision,  as  King  Izates  was  advised  by  his 
Jewish  merchant  friend,  Ananias,  to  do  (Josephus, 
Ant.  20 :  2 :  3-4)  ?  In  view  of  Gal.  i :  14  it  is  probable 
that  Paul,  like  Eleazar  in  the  case  of  King  Izates 
(Josephus,  Ant,  20:2:4),  would  have  insisted  on 
circumcision. 

These  pre-suppositions  came  to  Paul  chiefly  from 
an  environment  of  Jewish  life  and  literature,  a  Jewish 
environment  that  had,  however,  for  several  centuries 
been  somewhat  influenced  by  Greek,  Persian  and 
Babylonian  thought.  This  combination  of  influences 
would  have  been  felt  in  the  Tarsus  Ghetto,  and  there 
even  in  the  case  of  a  family  with  the  strong  Pharisaic 
traditions  that  prevailed  in  Paul's  home  (Phil.  3 :  5 ;  cf . 
Acts  23:6).  The  fact  that,  although  Pharisees,  this 
family    nevertheless    possessed    Roman    citizenship 

7 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


(Acts  22 :  28)  implies  a  degree  of  susceptibility  on  their 
part  to  foreign  influence. 

In  Paul's  Christian  period  the  pre-suppositions  of 
his  thought  would  naturally  have  been  affected  by 
wide  travel  and  intimate  personal  acquaintance  with 
gentlemen  of  Greek  culture,  especially  such  very 
interesting  converts  to  his  preaching  as  had  previously 
been  adventurous  seekers  after  moral  betterment  and 
eternal  life  in  the  mystery  religions.  There  is  less 
evidence  of  Greek  influence  in  Romans  than  in  some 
other  letters.  This  may  be  due  to  the  fact,  to  be  noted 
later  (p.  36),  that  in  Romans  Paul  is  trying  to  frame 
a  platform  that  will  draw  to  itself  both  Jews  and 
Greeks  in  preparation  for  the  end  of  the  present  age, 
and  that,  therefore,  so  far  as  possible  eliminates  all 
allusions  which  might  be  offensive  to  either  party. 

(2)  PauVs  personal  religious  experience, 

Paul  was  an  intensely  religious  man  before  he 
became  a  Christian.  The  outstanding  features  in  his 
religious  outlook  were  two :  the  will  of  God  as  expressed 
in  the  eternal  law  of  Moses  (Gal.  1:14;  Phil.  3 : 6)  and 
the  Messiah  who  would  through  his  cosmic  judgment 
secure  universal  obedience  to  this  law  in  the  New  Age. 
He  was  an  enthusiastic  Pharisaic  Messianist,  but  at 
the  same  time  a  loyal  Roman  citizen,  not  a  revolu- 
tionary zealot.  This  was  possible  because,  as  has 
been  said  above,  he  had  the  optimistic  hopeful  view 
of  the  future  of  the  Gentile  world  that  is  found  in  the 
Pharisaic  Testaments  of  the  12  Patriarchs.  The  Gen- 
tile world  was  desperately  wicked  (Rom.  1:18-32), 

8 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


but  God  meant  the  Jews  to  bring  at  least  some  portion 
of  it  into  obedience  to  the  law  of  Moses. 

Paul  very  probably  felt  that  a  great  revival  of  peni- 
tent obedience  to  the  law  on  the  part  of  God's  people 
would  bring  the  Messiah  down  from  heaven.  This 
idea  appears  in  the  Talmud  (Weber,  Die  Lehren  des 
Talmud  p.  334;  cf.  Testaments  of  the  12  Patriarchs, 
Dan  6:4)  and  the  idea  that  repentance  would  produce 
this  result  is  attributed  by  the  author  of  Acts  to  the 
primitive  Palestinian  Christians  (3:  19-21).  This 
explains  Paul's  passionate  hatred  of  Jesus  and  the 
Nazarenes.  Jesus  was  thought  by  him  to  have  op- 
posed the  rabbis  at  certain  vital  points  in  their  effort 
to  secure  from  the  people  such  obedience  to  the  law 
as  would  bring  the  Messiah  from  heaven  to  inaugurate 
the  New  Age.  There  must  always  have  been  a  large 
element  among  the  people  that  was  either  openly 
against  the  rabbis  or  very  sluggishly  responsive  to 
them.  The  special  zeal  for  the  law  which  character- 
ized Paul  (Gal.  1 :  14)  implies  the  existence  of  such  an 
element.  In  the  Gospel  pages  this  element  appears 
as  the  ''multitudes, "  many  of  them  ''publicans  and 
sinners,"  who  gathered  about  Jesus.  With  them 
Jesus  had  become  immensely  popular  as  a  prophet. 
This  had  made  him  an  exceedingly  dangerous  person. 
One  circumstance  seemed  to  the  rabbis  to  give  the 
clue  to  a  proper  understanding  of  his  real  character, 
namely,  his  authority  over  demons.  This  could  have 
been  possessed  by  such  a  person  only  because  he  stood 
high  in  the  councils  of  Satan  (cf.  Mark  3:22).  He 
was  one  whom  Satan  had  set  forth  to  seduce  the  people 

9 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


from  obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  to  prevent  the  com- 
ing of  the  Messiah  and  the  dawning  of  the  New  Age. 
Fortunately  the  Great  Court  had  finally  extorted  from 
him  a  confession  that  he  thought  himself  to  be  the 
Christ,  and  he  therefore  stood  out  clearly  as  an  Anti- 
Christ.  God's  awful  curse  fell  swiftly  upon  him  and 
he  hung  in  naked  shame  on  the  tree.  The  peril  to 
true  religion  seemed  to  be  safely  past.  But  the  Jesus 
movement  was  not  dead.  He  who  had  been  really  a 
devilish  Anti-Christ,  cursed  by  God,  was  declared  by 
his  deluded  followers,  whose  eyes  Satan  had  blinded, 
to  have  been  honored  by  God  with  a  resurrection  and 
to  be  the  true  Christ.  The  delusion  seemed  to  be 
spreading  rapidly  through  the  nation.  There  was 
only  one  thing  for  earnest  right-minded  patriots  to  do 
under  such  circumstances  and  that  was  to  kill  the 
enemy.  Paul  sprang  to  the  front  with  all  the  devotion 
of  his  deeply  religious  nature  and  became  the  leader  in 
a  campaign  for  the  extermination  of  the  Nazarenes 
(Gal.  1:13,  23;  I  Cor.  15:9;  cf.  Acts  22:4;  26:10). 
But  now  the  movement  began  to  show  new  and  start- 
ling possibilities  of  peril  to  true  religion.  The  fleeing 
Nazarenes  went  to  the  Ghettos  of  foreign  cities,  each 
individual  there  to  become  a  fresh  center  of  contagion. 
The  Jews  in  these  Ghettos,  surrounded  by  pagan  life 
and  worship,  competing  for  pagan  trade  in  business, 
were  always  in  special  danger  of  losing  something 
of  their  devotion  to  the  holy  law  of  Moses.  If  the 
Nazarene  movement  should  strike  its  roots  into  this 
congenial  soil,  no  one  could  calculate  the  harm  that 
would  be  done !     Unless  the  Nazarene  movement  was 

10 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


exterminated  the  Christ  would  not  soon  come  down 
from  heaven  and  the  holy  ideal  which  the  good  men 
of  Israel  were  cherishing  would  not  soon  be  realized. 
Rabbi  Saul  set  out,  therefore,  an  apostle  of  God's  holy 
law,  a  missionary  of  Pharisaic  righteousness,  to  prepare 
his  people  in  all  lands  for  the  coming  of  Christ  by 
destroying  the  Satan- Jesus  movement. 

There  are  hints  (Rom.  7:7-25;  cf.  Acts  26:14) 
that  Paul's  religious  life  during  this  period  was  restless 
and  contrasted  strangely  with  the  radiant  hope  and 
deep  peace  of  the  Nazarenes  (cf.  Acts  6:  15;  7:  54-60) 
from  whom  he  conscientiously  strove  to  extort  peni- 
tent denunciation  of  Jesus  (Acts  26:  lo-ii). 

This  career  of  persecution  was  suddenly  stopped  by 
an  event  of  revolutionary  importance.  Paul  later 
described  it  as  a  direct  act  of  God,  revealing  "his  Son " 
to  him  within  his  inmost  being  (Gal.  1:16)  where 
contact  with  the  spirit  world  would  most  naturally 
be  experienced  and  where  Paul's  wonderful  subsequent 
experience  found  its  sphere.  It  seemed  to  him  later 
such  an  appearance  of  Christ  as  the  Nazarene  leaders 
had  witnessed  (I  Cor.  15:5-8).  He  seemed  to  him- 
self to  have  been  "laid  hold  on  by  Christ  Jesus"  (Phil. 
3:12).  The  narratives  in  Acts  (9: 1-18;  22:  3-21 ; 
26 : 1-23)  are  in  substantial  accord  with  Paul's  inter- 
pretation of  the  experience.  Near  Damascus  (cf. 
Gal.  i:  17)  he  suddenly  found  himself  in  the  midst 
of  an  overpowering  light.  The  heavenly  "spiritual" 
world  with  its  unspeakable  "glory"  had  broken  into 
this  world  of  "  flesh  "  as  he  had  expected  it  to  do  when- 
ever the   Christ  should   be   revealed   from   heaven. 

II 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


Could  it  be  that  the  judgment  day  was  here  and  that 
the  Christ  had  come  without  waiting  for  the  great 
repentance,  for  a  law-keeping  Israel,  without  waiting 
for  the  blasphemous  Jesus  movement  to  be  stamped 
out  ?  Then  from  the  midst  of  the  heavenly  glory  he  saw 
a  face  (II  Cor.  4:  6)  and  heard  a  voice  sounding  down 
into  the  depths  of  his  soul  and  saying  in  the  language 
he  had  learned  in  the  home  of  his  infancy  (Acts  26 :  14) : 
"Saul,  Saul  why  are  you  persecuting  me?"  ^'Who 
are  you,  Sir?"  he  said  in  terror.  To  his  horror  the 
voice  replied,  "  I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth  whom  you  are 
persecuting."  Jesus,  the  Satanic  blasphemer,  who  had 
been  cursed  on  the  cross  by  God,  was  in  heavenly 
glory  and  possessed  the  Christ's  own  power  to  make 
heavenly  glory  break  into  the  world  of  flesh!  Saul 
was  experiencing  the  Christ's  judgment  day.  What 
would  the  Christ  do  to  him?  The  voice  told  him  to 
go  on  his  way  to  his  intended  destination  and  find  out 
there.  He  rose  up  a  sinful  man  blinded  by  the  glory 
of  Christ's  judgment  day  and  yet  not  destroyed.  He 
was  still  on  earth  among  men  whose  hands  of  flesh  he 
felt  as  in  amazement  they  led  him  into  the  city. 

For  the  purpose  of  understanding  Romans  it  is 
necessary  simply  to  recognize  Paul's  interpretation  of 
this  experience  without  discussing  what  actually  hap- 
pened. The  present  writer  holds  that  the  spirit  of 
Jesus  here  actually  met  the  spirit  of  Paul  and  made  his 
presence  felt  in  ways  psychologically  determined  by 
Paul's  temperament,  previous  history  and  present 
circumstances. 

12 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


What  was  the  effect  of  this  tremendous  spiritual 
shock  upon  Paul's  rehgious  outlook? 

(a)  First  of  all  he  learned  to  join  the  title  "Christ," 
the  title  of  holiness  and  glory,  with  the  name  "Jesus," 
the  name  of  blasphemy  and  shame.  He  learned  to 
say  "Christ  Jesus." 

(b)  He  learned  that  Christ  Jesus  was  kind,  was  full 
of  "grace."  One  of  the  severest  criticisms  passed  by 
the  rabbis  upon  Jesus  had  been  that  he  consorted  in 
a  friendly  way  with  the  most  outrageous  law-breakers, 
' '  publicans  and  sinners . "  Paul ,  overwhelmed  with  the 
sense  of  having  fought  against  the  Christ  and  killed  his 
faithful  followers,  now  finds  this  to  be  a  true  criticism. 
Jesus  Christ  has  not  destroyed  him,  has  not  blinded 
him  for  life,  has  not  simply  let  him  off  with  a  threaten- 
ing injunction  to  persecute  no  more.  Jesus  Christ 
has  honored  him  with  a  high  commission.  Paul's 
great  longing  to  prepare  the  people  for  the  Christ's 
coming  is  to  be  utilized  by  Jesus,  only  instead  of 
preparing  for  it  by  destroying  the  Jesus  messianic 
movement  he  is  to  be  made  a  great  leader  in  the  Jesus 
movement. 

(c)  That  is,  Paul  received  from  Jesus  Christ  the 
grace  of  apostleship  (Rom.  1:5).  This  never  ceased 
to  fill  his  heart  with  profound  gratitude  (I  Cor.  15: 
9-10).  From  this  time  on  Paul  thinks  of  himself 
as  one  of  a  little  group  of  cosmic  significance,  upon 
whom  the  eyes  of  all  the  universe  are,  or  ought 
to  be,  fastened.  He  is  one  of  those  who  have  been 
sent  by  God  into  the  great  arena  of  the  universe  just 
before  the  break  up  of  the  old  age,  a  center  of  interest 

13 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


for  the  whole  amphitheatre  of  heaven  and  earth;  "I 
think  God  hath  set  forth  us,  the  apostles,  last  of  all,  as 
men  doomed  to  death :  for  we  are  made  a  spectacle  unto 
the  world,  both  to  angels  and  men"  (I  Cor.  4:9). 

Paul  is  thought  to  say  in  Gal.  1:16  that  he  at  once 
knew  that  he  was  to  be  an  apostle  to  Gentiles.  He 
certainly  saw,  as  he  looked  back  upon  the  event  in  the 
light  of  later  developments,  that  God  then  purposed 
to  send  him  to  the  Gentiles,  that  this  had  indeed  been 
God's  purpose  for  him  at  the  time  of  his  birth  (Gal. 
1 :  15).  The  statement  in  Gal.  i :  11-24  is  very  con- 
densed and  may  summarize  what  only  gradually 
became  clear.  Paul  had  presumably  long  felt  that 
the  messianic  plan  of  God  included  the  Gentiles  {Tes- 
taments of  the  12  Patriarchs,  Benj.  9:2;  Levi  14:4; 
Psalms  of  Solomon  17 :  32) ,  but  of  course  as  Jewish  pros- 
elytes. It  is  not  impossible  that  when  he  started  out 
to  cleanse  the  Ghettos  of  foreign  cities  from  the  Nazar- 
ene  pest,  he  also  hoped  to  win  converts  to  Mosaism 
from  among  the  Gentiles.  There  were  missionaries  of 
Pharisaism  who  made  long  dangerous  journeys  by  land 
and  sea  for  this  purpose  (Matt.  23:  15).  If  this  was 
Paul's  frame  of  mind  at  the  time  of  his  conversion  it 
may  very  well  be,  as  the  narrative  in  Acts  seems  to 
imply,  that  it  took  him  a  considerable  time  to  learn 
from  the  logic  of  events  the  terms  on  which  Gentiles 
might  be  included  in  the  Jesus  messianic  movement. 

(d)  Paul  had  a  new  conception  of  God  as  a  result 
of  this  experience.  The  unexpected  "grace"  of  the 
Christ,  who  was  Jesus,  the  friend  of  sinners,  necessarily 
revealed  unexpected  grace  in  God  who  sent  such  a 

14 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


Christ  and  endorsed  his  friendliness  by  resurrection 
and  exaltation  to  his  own  right  hand. 

(e)  With  this  new  conception  of  the  grace  of  God 
and  his  Christ  came  a  new  conception  of  the  terms  on 
which  God  would  deal  with  men  through  his  Christ 
in  the  judgment  day.  Here  Paul's  experience  came 
directly  into  evidence,  for  his  experience  with  Jesus 
Christ  had  been  a  kind  of  preliminary  judgment  day. 
As  he  had  settled  down  to  a  thankful,  obedient  accept- 
ance of  the  commission  of  Jesus  Christ  he  found  him- 
self in  a  strangely  peaceful  frame  of  mind,  Such 
peace  he  very  well  knew  could  come  only  to  one  who 
had  been  set  right  with  God.  That  which  had  set  him 
right  with  God  was  certainly  not  the  deeds  of  pious 
law  keeping  for  which  he  had  been  famous  (Gal.  i :  14; 
Phil.  3:6).  They  had  not  sufficed  to  keep  him  from 
an  unrighteous  fight  against  God's  Christ.  Without 
doubt  that  which  had  brought  him  peace  was  his 
humble,  thankful  acceptance  of  the  control  which 
Jesus  Christ  assumed  over  his  life,  that  is,  his  "faith." 
(See  notes,  i :  16-17).  He  learned  through  this  experi- 
ence the  lesson  of  righteousness,  or  rightness  with  God, 
through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  afterward 
found  this  corroborated  by  the  new  meaning  that  he 
saw  in  the  scriptural  description  of  Abraham's  religious 
experience:  "Abraham  had  faith  in  God  and  it  was 
accounted  to  him  righteousness"  (cf.  Rom.  4:  1-3). 
He  learned  here  in  experience  his  simple  gospel  of 
faith:  "The  word  is  nigh  thee  in  thy  mouth  and  in 
thy  heart,  that  is,  the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach : 
that  if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  Jesus  as  Lord 

15 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart  that  God  raised  him 
from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."     (Rom.  lo:  8-9.) 

(f)  Paul  found  that  faith  in  Jesus  was  not  an  iso- 
lated act  but  a  permanent  state.  The  Christ  who 
had  appeared  to  him  in  his  very  soul  (Gal.  1:16)  did 
not  leave  him.  Christ's  breaking  into  his  inner  life 
out  of  the  spiritual  world  opened  up  a  permanent  con- 
nection with  the  spiritual  world .  He  had  an  almighty, 
unchangeable  friend  in  the  spiritual  world  (Rom. 
8 :  34-35) .  The  powers  of  the  spiritual  world  began 
to  pour  in  and  operate  mightily  in  him,  so  that  in  an 
ecstatic  state  he  "spoke  with  tongues"  to  an  unusual 
degree  (I  Cor.  14:  18),  and  could  do  such  remarkable 
deeds  as  would  be  expected  of  an  apostle  of  the  mighty 
Christ  (II  Cor.  12:  12).  An  abiding  fellowship  with 
Christ  was  established  in  his  life,  so  that  he  prayed  to 
Christ  (II  Cor.  12:8-9),  felt  that  his  missionary 
itinerary  was  drawn  up  by  Christ  (I  Thess.  3 :  11),  and 
that  all  his  life  was  vitalized  by  the  presence  of  Christ 
(Gal.  2:20).  His  whole  conception  of  the  Coming 
Age  summed  itself  up  in  terms  of  the  continuance  of 
this  relation:  "So  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord"  (I 
Thess.  4: 17). 

(g)  It  was  now  almost  inevitable  that  he  should 
change  his  conception  of  the  function  of  the  law. 
He  realized  at  once  that  the  men  most  devoted  to  the 
law  were  flagrantly  unrighteous,  fighting  against  God 
and  his  Christ.  The  sense  of  rightness  that  followed 
his  interview  with  Jesus  had  come  to  him  entirely 
apart  from  law.  What  then  was  the  purpose  of  law? 
He  may  have  hesitated  at  this  point  in  his  thought  for 

16 


THE  EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


a  time.  Later  he  reached  the  startling  conclusion 
that  the  purpose  of  God's  holy  law  was  not  to  give 
men  a  chance  to  become  righteous  by  keeping  it,  but 
to  give  the  cosmic  personalities,  one  of  whom  was 
**Sin,"  a  chance  to  express  to  the  full  their  evil  dis- 
position in  leading  flesh  men  to  disobey  law  and  incur 
death.  In  this  way  the  law  would  make  men  realize 
their  desperate  situation  and  so  would  turn  them  to 
faith    as   their   only   resource    (Gal.  3:23-24).     See 

pp.  54-57. 

(h)  It  was  inevitable  also  that  Paul  should  at  once 
ask  himself  why  the  Messiah  should  die.  He  had 
often  heard  the  persecuted  Nazarenes  give  a  reason 
when  he  had  fiercely  flung  this  question  at  them.  He 
humbly  accepted  their  answer  when  he  became  a 
Christian  and  passed  it  on  to  others  in  his  preaching: 
"  I  delivered  unto  you  among  prime  truths  that  which 
also  I  received,  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according 
to  the  scriptures"  (I  Cor.  15:3).  That  is,  God  willed 
it  and  foretold  it  in  the  scriptures.  How  the  Nazar- 
enes came  to  find  in  the  scriptures  an  idea  that  had 
escaped  the  rabbis  is  not  clear.  They  later  attributed 
the  discovery  to  Jesus  himself.  (Lk.  24:25-26, 
45-46;  Mk.  9:  12;  14:21.)  Paul  must  at  once  have 
asked  why  God  willed  it.  How  long  it  was  before  he 
found  a  satisfactory  reply  does  not  appear.  That 
God  could  use  the  death  suffering  of  righteous  Jews 
to  "ransom"  and  "purify"  the  nation  was  not  an 
unfamiliar  thought,  at  least  in  some  circles  (II  Mac. 
7: 38;  4  Mac.  6:29;  17:21-22;  Testaments  of  the  12 
Patriarchs ,  Ben j .  3 : 8) .    To  one  whose  religious  thought 

17 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 


rested  on  sacrificial  pre-suppositions  it  would  not  have 
seemed  unnatural  that  God  should  gather  his  people 
about  him  for  a  great  purifying  sacrifice  on  the  thresh- 
old of  a  vast  new  enterprise  like  that  of  the  New  Age. 
Paul  later  emphasized  the  idea  that  in  Christ's  death 
God  was  so  revealing  his  love  as  to  reconcile  men  to 
himself  (e.g.,  II  Cor.  5:  19.  See  notes  on  3:25  f.). 
It  may  at  once  have  occurred  to  him  that  God  was  in 
this  way  stimulating  the  penitence  that  was  requisite 
to  bring  Christ  from  heaven  (cf.  Acts  3:  19-21).  It 
is  sometimes  held  that  to  Paul's  mind  the  chief  signif- 
ficance  of  Jesus'  death  and  resurrection  lay  in  the 
fact  that  they  in  some  way  gave  him  victory  over  the 
great  cosmic  personalities  "Sin"  and  the  "Elements" 
(Gal.  4:3,  9,  Col.  2:8,  20).  Jesus  Christ  came  into 
Sin's  world  of  flesh  and  won  decisive  victory  over 
them  by  experiencing  without  harm  to  himself  the 
worst  that  Sin  and  Death  could  do.  This  was  be- 
cause God  was  with  him  and  by  a  resurrection  from 
the  dead  exalted  him  to  a  superior  place  of  power  from 
which  he  could  abolish  the  flesh  age  of  Sin  and  Death 
by  a  world  judgment.  This  is  thought  to  be  the 
meaning  even  of  Rom.  3:24-26  (e.g.,  Carre:  Paul's 
Doctrine  of  Redemption).  Paul  was  accustomed  to 
present  the  subject  of  Jesus'  death  and  resurrection 
in  several  ways.  This  seems  pretty  surely  to  have 
been  one  of  them.  But  the  evidence  hardly  war- 
rants the  conclusion  that  it  was  the  only  one  and 
that  it  wholly  supplanted  the  sacrificial  analogy 
which  certainly  lay  close  at  hand  in  Jewish  and 
Greco-Roman  thought. 

18 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


(i)  Paul's  conception  of  the  ethical  life  may  have 
undergone  some  change  as  a  result  of  his  Damascus 
experience.  It  is  clear  that  his  conception  of  life  in 
the  New  Age  changed  somewhat,  because  Jesus  whom 
he  had  once  abhorred  was  now  recognized  as  Lord  of 
the  New  Age,  and  the  ideals  of  Jesus,  so  far  as  Paul 
understood  them,  would  now  necessarily  be  consid- 
ered as  dominating  the  Coming  Age.  This  would 
involve  some  change  in  the  ethical  standards  of  the 
present  life,  not  only  because  the  New  Age  was  so 
near,  but  because  for  the  Christian  the  life  of  faith  now 
as  well  as  in  the  future  was  life  with  Jesus  Christ. 
If  Paul  before  his  conversion  had  approved  of  the 
spirit  of  forgiving  love  so  beautifully  taught  in  the 
Testaments  of  the  12  Patriarchs,  then  the  necessary 
change  would  have  been  principally  one  of  elimination. 
Certain  features  of  his  ethical  ideal  would  have  been 
shorn  off.  His  ideal  would  have  been  simplified.  It 
must  have  immediately  become  evident  to  him  that, 
neither  in  the  Coming  Age  nor  at  present,  was  the 
demand  of  the  rabbis  for  the  punctilious  observance 
of  their  interpretation  of  the  Mosaic  law  an  essential 
part  of  the  true  ethical  ideal,  for  Jesus  was  understood 
to  have  been  against  this.  What  Jesus'  attitude 
toward  the  Mosaic  law  really  was  is  another  question, 
but  it  seems  certain  that  he  was  understood  to  have 
been  against  certain  interpretations  of  the  law  that 
seemed  to  the  rabbis  fundamentally  important.  Paul 
finally  came  to  the  place  where  the  life  of  love  seemed 
to  him  to  be  the  comprehensive  designation  of  the 
true  ethical  ideal  (Gal.  5:  14;  I  Cor.  13;  Rom.  13:8- 

19 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


lo),  which  was  also  the  teaching  of  Jesus  (Mt. 
22 :  35-40.)  The  simphfication  of  his  ethical  ideal 
by  a  process  of  elimination  may  have  required  con- 
siderable time,  but  it  must  have  begun  as  an  immedi- 
ate consequence  of  his  interview  with  Jesus. 

2.   Paul  the  Author  of  Romans. 

About  150  A.  D.  Marcion  (see  p.  63)  made  what  he 
conceived  to  be  an  expurgated  collection  of  the  writ- 
ings of  Paul  comprising  ten  letters,  among  them 
Romans.  He  regarded  these  letters  as  having  an 
already  established  Pauline  reputation  in  the  church. 
The  Pauline  authorship  of  Romans,  clearly  recognized 
at  this  early  date,  remained  unquestioned  for  centur- 
ies. The  revolutionary  conclusions  of  Ferdinand 
Christian  Baur,  the  Tubingen  professor  of  church 
history,  regarding  the  authorship  and  dates  of  most 
of  the  New  Testament  books,  still  assigned  Romans, 
First  and  Second  Corinthians,  and  Galatians  without 
question  to  Paul.  Some  twenty  years  after  Baur's 
death  a  small  group  of  scholars  chiefly  in  Holland, 
began  to  deny  the  Pauline  authorship  of  all  the  New 
Testament  writings  attributed  to  him.  These  schol- 
ars consider  the  '*  Pauline  "  letters  to  have  been  written 
in  the  second  century  (Romans  perhaps  about  120) 
m  the  name  of  a  certain  "Paul"  who  had  been  an 
influential  missionary  in  the  early  years  and  whose 
memory  was  revered  in  the  second  century  but  about 
whom  we  know  very  little.  These  second  century 
authors  tried  to  write  these  letters  as  they  imagined 
Paul  would  have  written  in  his  own  day  but  they 

20 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


bungled  their  work.  They  attributed  to  the  Paul 
of  the  first  century  ideas  that  were  current  in  their  own 
day  but  that  Paul  himself,  it  is  alleged,  could  not  have 
held. 

These  Dutch  scholars  were  followed  later  (after 
1900)  by  a  small  group  (e.g.,  W.  B.  Smith  in  America, 
J.  M.  Robertson  in  England,  and  Arthur  Drews  in 
Germany)  who  sought  to  lift  Christian  experience 
above  the  uncertainties  incident  to  the  sphere  of 
history  by  denying  that  Jesus  Christ  was  an  historical 
character.  This  view  of  course  does  not  necessitate 
a  denial  of  the  Paulinity  of  the  Pauline  letters.  It 
seems  to  some  of  these  writers  possible  to  hold  that 
Paul  himself  did  not  regard  Jesus  Christ  as  an  his- 
torical character. 

This  modern  school  of  criticism  has  not  gained  the 
assent  even  of  those  who  are  ordinarily  considered  to 
be  very  radical  New  Testament  scholars.  It  has, 
however,  been  an  incentive  to  a  more  thorough  inves- 
tigation of  the  social  and  religious  environment  of 
early  Christianity  which  is  beginning  to  produce  ex- 
ceedingly valuable  results.  The  Jewish  and  Greco- 
Roman  environment  of  early  Christianity,  which 
these  patient  investigations  are  bringing  out  into 
clearer  light,  is  more  and  more  turning  out  to  be  one 
in  which  the  principal  Pauline  letters,  when  assigned 
to  the  fifth,  sixth  or  seventh  decade  of  the  first  century, 
seem  thoroughly  at  home. 

Furthermore  it  seems  absolutely  impossible  to  pic- 
ture a  man  or  a  group  of  men  in  the  second  century 
who  could  assume  the  role  of  such  a  Paul  as  appears  in 

21 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


these  letters.  Such  writers  would  not  naturally  have 
attributed  to  him  the  unrealized  expectation  of  living 
to  see  the  Lord's  return  nor  the  vigorous  attack  on 
Peter  described  in  Gal.  2:11-14.  They  could  not 
have  simulated  the  intense  passion,  the  extreme  sen- 
sitiveness, the  swift  alternations  of  censure  and  tender 
appeal  that  appear  in  Galatians  and  the  two  Corin- 
thian letters.*  Romans  is  more  dispassionate  than 
the  other  three,  but  it  has  been  rightly  recognized 
that,  whatever  may  be  said  about  the  unity  of  Romans 
(see  pp.  63,  70,  71),  its  essential  Paulinity  stands  or 
falls  with  that  of  the  other  three. 

*  Case,  The  Historicity  of  Jesus,  pp.  178-199;  Bacon,  Galatians^ 
pp.  7-1 1. 


22 


II.  THE  CHURCH   IN   ROME 

I.  The  Jews  in  Rome. 

According  to  Philo,  the  Alexandrian  Jew  and  older 
contemporary  of  Paul,  in  the  reign  of  Augustus  Caesar 
(d.  14  A.  D.)  there  were  Jews  occupying  "the  great 
division  of  Rome  which  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
Tiber."  "They  were  mostly  Roman  citizens,  having 
been  emancipated;  for  having  been  brought  as  cap- 
tives into  Italy,  they  were  manumitted  by  those  who 
had  bought  them  for  slaves,  without  ever  having 
been  compelled  to  alter  any  of  their  hereditary  or  na- 
tional observances."  "They  had  synagogues"  which 
they  visited  "most  especially  on  the  sacred  sabbath 
days"  {To  Caius,  23).  It  is  probable  that  many  of 
these  Jews  had  been  brought  to  Rome  by  Pompey 
soon  after  he  captured  Jerusalem  in  63  B.  C.  How- 
ever there  must  have  been  a  considerable  number  of 
Jews  in  Rome  before  that  time,  for  when  Cicero  in 
his  defence  of  Flaccus  about  59  B.  C.  in  Rome  found 
it  necessary  to  make  some  uncomplimentary  state- 
ments about  Jews,  he  was  seriously  embarrassed  by  the 
presence  of  a  large  number  of  them  in  his  audience. 
They  were  very  skilful,  he  said,  in  working  up  popular 
clamor  against  any  one  who  became  the  object  of 
their  dislike.     (Pro  Flacco  28.) 

Perhaps  there  had  been  Jews  in  the  city  even  as 
far  back  as  the  middle  of  the  second  century  B.  C, 

23 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


when  the  Maccabean  leaders  were  sending  messages 
from  Palestine  to  the  Roman  senate  (i  Mac.  8,  12, 

14.  15). 

An  indication  of  the  actual  size  of  the  Jewish  settle- 
ment in  Rome  is  found  in  the  fact  that  when  in  the 
year  4  B.  C.  a  delegation  of  fifty  Jews  from  Palestine 
visited  Rome,  they  were  joined  by  more  than  8,000 
Jews,  presumably  men,  resident  in  Rome  (Josephus, 
Ant.  17:  11:  I,  War  2:  6:  i).  Zahn  argues  from  this 
a  total  population  of  more  than  30,000,  which  seems 
a  moderate  estimate.  Later  (19  A.  D.)  under  Ti- 
berius, as  punishment  4,000  Jews  in  Rome,  evidently 
young  men  of  military  age,  were  enlisted  in  the  army 
and  sent  to  unhealthful  regions,  while  a  large  ad- 
ditional number  of  military  age  were  otherwise 
punished  (Josephus,  Ant.  18:  3:  5;  cf.  Suetonius, 
Lives  of  the  Emperors,  Tiberius  36).  This  would  in- 
dicate a  total  population  considerably  larger  than 
30,000. 

The  Jews  did  not  live  exclusively  in  the  Trastevere, 
at  least  not  in  Juvenal's  day  (100  A.  D.),  but  were 
found  also  across  the  river  in  the  city  {Sat.  3).  Jew- 
ish cemeteries  have  been  discovered  elsewhere  than 
in  the  Trastevere  (Schtirer,  Sanday-Headlam). 

2.  Early  Christians  in  Rome. 

(i)  Very  likely  Jews  from  Rome  making  the  annual 
religious  pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem  had  become  Chris- 
tians there.  Such  "sojourning  Romans"  are  repre- 
sented to  have  been  in  Jerusalem  on  the  famous  **day 
of  Pentecost"  (Acts  2:  10).     As  soon  as  Gentile  con- 

24 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


verts  began  to  be  numerous  in  the  cities  of  the  Levant 
they  would  be  constantly  drifting  into  Rome  on  the 
currents  of  trade  and  travel. 

(2)  The  earliest  distinct  evidence  of  Christians  in 
Rome  is  the  statement  of  Paul  in  Rom.  15:23  that 
he  had  been  hoping  "for  these  many  years"  to  visit 
the  Christians  there,  and  the  statement  in  Acts  18:  i- 
3  that  a  Jew  named  Aquila  and  his  wife  Priscilla  were 
among  the  Jews  recently  compelled  by  edict  of  the 
Emperor  Claudius  (41-54  A.  D.)  to  leave  Rome. 
The  reason  for  thinking  them  to  have  been  Christians 
before  leaving  Rome  is  the  fact  that,  although  they 
began  at  once  to  associate  with  Paul  in  Corinth, 
they  are  nowhere  spoken  of  as  his  converts. 

To  be  considered  in  connection  with  this  passage 
in  Acts  is  the  statement  in  Suetonius  (100  A.  D. 
Lives  of  the  Emperors,  Claudius,  25) :  "Since  the  Jews 
constantly  made  disturbances  at  the  instigation  of 
Chrestus,  he  (the  Emperor  Claudius)  expelled  them 
from  Rome."  "Chrestus"  may  be  "Christus, "  and 
the  statement  an  unintelligent  reference  to  the  message 
about  Christ  that  was  agitating  the  Jewish  community 
in  Rome.  The  exact  date  of  this  expulsion  is  uncer- 
tain. It  cannot  have  been  at  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Claudius  (41  A.  D.),  for  at  that  time  he  issued 
a  general  edict  of  toleration  for  all  the  Jews  of  the 
empire  (Josephus,  Ant.  19:5:2-3).  Orosius,  a  Span- 
ish Christian  historian  of  the  fifth  century,  gives  the 
date  as  the  ninth  year  of  Claudius,  49  A.  D.  Dio 
Cassius  speaks  of  an  expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Rome 
by  Claudius  which  it  was  impracticable  to  enforce 

25 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


and  which  was  reduced  to  the  prohibition  of  public 
meetings.  In  any  case  those  who  left  the  city  were 
doubtless  soon  back  again.  The  fact  that  Priscilla 
and  Aquila  seem  to  have  stayed  away  several  years  (I 
Cor.  i6: 19)  is  perhaps  an  indication  that  they  were 
regarded  as  leaders  in  the  disturbances  of  the  Ghetto 
and  so  found  it  difficult  to  return. 

The  statements  in  Acts  and  Suetonius  do  not  indi- 
cate how  many  Christians  there  were  in  Rome.  A 
very  few  determined  Christian  agitators  could  keep 
the  whole  Ghetto  in  a  ferment  and  produce  such  noisy 
disturbances  among  their  excitable  fellow  countrymen 
on  the  street  and  in  the  synagogue  as  would  result  in 
the  Emperor's  order  to  the  police  to  clear  the  Ghetto. 
Neither  do  these  statements  show  that  the  Christian 
group  of  this  early  period  was  predominantly  Jewish. 
There  may  have  been  many  Gentile  Christians  scat- 
tered through  the  city  and  its  suburbs  who  had  no 
direct  connection  with  the  Christian  propaganda  being 
attempted  by  a  few  Christian  Jews  in  the  Ghetto. 
According  to  Acts  28: 21-22  the  Christian  movement 
had  made  very  little  impression  on  the  leaders  of  the 
Ghetto  at  the  time  when  Paul  finally  reached  Rome. 
It  would  seem  to  have  become  largely  a  Gentile  move- 
ment by  that  time.  Paul's  letter  to  the  Romans 
makes  the  same  impression.     (See  pp.  29-32.) 

(3)  Was  Peter  in  Rome  during  these  early  years? 
Evidence  that  Peter  was  at  some  time  in  Rome  appears 
with  distinctness  a  little  before  and  after  the  year  200 
A.  D.,  in  Asia  Minor  {Acts  of  Peter)  ,\n  Corinth.  (Diony- 
sius,  Bishop  of  Corinth,  quoted  by  Eusebius,  Ch.  Hist. 

;26 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


2:25:8),  in  Rome  (Caius,  quoted  by  Eusebius,  Ch. 
Hist.  2:25:6;  Hippolytus,  Ref.  Her.  6:15),  in  Gaul 
(Irenaeus,  Ag.  Her.  3:1:1,  3:3:2),  in  Alexandria 
(Clement,  quoted  by  Eusebius,  Ch.  Hist.  6:  14:  6),  in 
North  Africa  (Tertullian,  e.g.,  Against  Marcion  4:5). 
It  may  possibly  be  inferred  from  allusions  at  an  earlier 
date,  a  little  before  and  after  100  A.  D.  (i  Pet.  5 :  13,  if 
"Babylon"  is  Rome;  Clement  of  Rome,  Corinthians 
5-6;  Ignatius,  To  the  Romans  4:  i ;  Papias,  in  Eusebius, 
Ch.  Hist.  2:15:2). 

It  seems  clear  that  Peter  was  not  the  "founder"  of 
the  church  in  Rome  in  the  sense  that  he  first  preached 
Christ  there.  In  some  of  the  passages  cited  above 
that  speak  of  Peter  as  founding  the  church,  the  same 
function  is  ascribed  to  Paul.  Caius,  a  member  of  the 
church  in  Rome,  speaks  of  "trophies  of  the  apostles" 
(places  where  they  were  executed  or  buried)  in  Rome 
as  "trophies  of  those  who  laid  the  foundations  of  this 
church";  and  Irenaeus  says  that  Matthew  issued  a 
Gospel  "while  Peter  and  Paul  were  preaching  at 
Rome  and  laying  the  foundations  of  the  church." 
Yet  Irenaeus  must  have  known  from  Rom.  1:13, 
15:22  that  the  church  had  been  in  existence  before 
Paul  visited  Rome.  Probably  any  church  that  had 
been  visited  by  an  apostle  was  thought  of  as  an  apos- 
tolic foundation.  Dionysius  of  Corinth,  in  the  passage 
referred  to  above,  claims  Peter  as  well  as  Paul  as  a 
founder  of  the  Corinthian  church;  "both  of  them 
planted  and  likewise  taught  us  in  our  Corinth." 

If  Peter  did  preach  in  Rome  had  he  done  so  before 
Paul  wrote  Romans?     In  Rom.   15:20  Paul  speaks 

27 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


of  unwillingness  to  build  on  another  man's  foundation. 
Professor  Lake  in  his  very  valuable  book,  The  Earlier 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  (p.  379),  thinks  that  Paul  is  giving 
this  as  a  reason  for  not  having  visited  Rome  and  that 
the  other  man  may  have  been  Peter,  who  had  there- 
fore already  been  in  Rome,  though  not  necessarily  as 
absolutely  the  first  preacher  there.  Hov/ever  Paul's 
unwillingness  to  build  on  another  man's  foundation 
seems  to  be  mentioned  by  him  as  an  interesting  char- 
acteristic of  all  his  previous  preaching  from  Jerusalem 
to  Illyricum  (15:  19)  rather  than  as  an  explanation  of 
his  failure  to  come  to  Rome.  What  had  kept  him 
from  Rome  was  not  some  fixed,  steadily  operating 
circumstance  like  the  fact  of  Peter's  supposed  work 
there,  for  in  that  case  it  would  not  be  natural  for  him 
to  say  that  he  had  ''oftentimes  purposed  to  come" 
(i :  13).  Such  language  implies  a  variety  of  hindering 
circumstances  no  one  of  which  now  finally  remains. 

Furthermore  the  Roman  church,  at  the  time  when 
Paul  wrote  Romans,  was  predominantly  Gentile  (see 
pp.  29-32).  Therefore  Peter  had  not  been  true  to  his 
agreement  with  Paul,  which  was  to  preach  his  char- 
acteristic Jewish  gospel  only  among  Jews  (Gal.  2 :  7-9), 
if  he  had  founded  and  developed  this  church  since 
that  agreement  was  made.  It  might,  of  course,  be 
that  the  church  had  ceased  to  be  Jewish  and  become 
strongly  Gentile  since  Peter  had  last  visited  it,  or  that 
he  had  worked  in  Rome  before  the  agreement  of  Gal. 
2:7-9  was  made,  but  neither  of  these  suppositions 
seems  quite  probable.  If  Peter  had  very  early 
preached  in  Rome  and  in  other  cities  which  he  would 

?8 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


presumably  have  visited  on  his  journey  from  Palestine 
to  Rome  and  back,  some  trace  of  such  evangelization 
might  naturally  be  expected  in  Acts.  The  demands  of 
the  evidence  connecting  Peter  with  Rome  are  best 
met  by  supposing  that  Peter  was  in  Rome  at  a  later 
time,  perhaps  on  several  occasions,  and  suffered  mar- 
tyrdom there.  Changed  conditions  in  the  late  fifties 
and  early  sixties  had  rendered  the  agreement  of  Gal. 
2 : 7-9  obsolete. 

3.  The  Membership  of  the  Church  in  Rome  at 
THE  Time  when  Romans  was  Written. 

(i)  Their  nationality. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  during  the  last 
hundred  years  as  to  whether  the  readers  were  pre- 
dominantly Jewish  or  Gentile.  Among  the  older 
scholars  Baur  argued  that  the  readers  of  this  letter 
must  have  been  predominantly  Jewish,  while  Weiz- 
sacker  and  Pfleiderer  considered  them  to  have  been 
predominantly  Gentile.  Among  later  scholars  the 
Gentile  character  of  the  church  has  been  widely  main- 
tained (e.g.,  Sanday-Headlam,  Liitgert,  Jiilicher,  B. 
Weiss),  while  Zahn  is  the  most  thorough-going  advo- 
cate of  the  Jewish  membership.  Professor  Lake  holds 
that  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  were  probably  largely 
represented  in  the  membership. 

It  is  almost  certain  that  any  church  in  a  great  city 
at  this  time  would  contain  Jews.  That  there  were 
Jews  among  the  Christians  in  Rome  is  clear  if  chapter 
16  is  an  integral  part  of  the  letter  (see  p.  70),  for  indi- 
vidual Jews  are  mentioned  in  16:  3,  7,  11.     However, 

29 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


the  evidence  in  favor  of  a  predominantly  Gentile 
membership  seems  conclusive.  Paul  justifies  himself 
for  writing  to  them  on  the  ground  that  he  is  the  apostle 
to  Gentiles  (i :  5,  13;  ii :  13;  15:  15-16).  He  assumes 
that  his  readers  think  that  God  has  excluded  the 
Jewish  nation  from  participation  in  the  Jesus  mes- 
sianic movement  (11:  I,  17-19),  an  assumption  that 
they  would  not  naturally  make  if  there  had  been  any 
considerable  Jewish  element  in  their  own  church. 
Furthermore,  in  opposing  this  assumption  Paul  does 
not  point  to  a  Jewish  element  in  the  Roman  church, 
but  instead  cites  the  fact  that  God  has  made  him,  a 
Jew,  the  leader  in  Gentile  evangehzation  and  that  God 
has  a  faithful  Jewish  remnant  apparently  scattered 
here  and  there  like  the  seven  thousand  in  Elijah's 
day  (11:2-5). 

Certain  passages  cited  to  prove  that  the  readers 
were  largely  Jewish  are  intelligible  on  the  other  theory. 
The  fact  that  in  chapter  2  the  Jew  is  directly  addressed 
(**  If  thou  bearest  the  name  Jew,"  2:  17)  may  seem  to 
indicate  that  Paul  was  here  directly  addressing  Jewish 
readers,  but  this  cannot  be  the  case  for  the  persons 
described  in  the  following  sentences  (21-24)  are 
evidently  not  Christians  at  all.  In  this  chapter  Paul 
is  making  a  rhetorical  appeal  to  the  Jewish  nation. 
The  pertinence  of  such  an  appeal  in  this  letter  will  be- 
come apparent  in  the  discussion  of  the  purpose  of  the 
letter.  The  language  in  4:  i  (cf.  9:  10),  "What  then 
shall  we  say  that  Abraham  our  forefather  hath  found," 
is  often  thought  to  imply  a  considerable  body  of  Jews 
among  the  readers  with  whom  Paul  classifies  himself 

30 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


by  saying  "we"  and  ''our."  This  passage  taken  by 
itself  might,  of  course,  be  so  interpreted,  but  not  when 
account  is  taken  of  Paul's  attitude  in  the  whole  epistle. 
His  general  attitude  is  that  of  a  thoroughly  loyal  Jew 
(9-  i~5)  asserting  to  Gentile  readers  the  present  prim- 
acy before  God  of  his  own  Jewish  race  (ii :  17-18;  cf. 
i:  16,  2:  10).  Here  in  4:  i  he  classifies  himself  with 
the  Jewish  nation  by  saying  "our  forefathers"  and 
classifies  himself  with  the  Gentile  readers  by  saying 
"we."  It  is  as  if  a  thoroughly  loyal  Frenchman  think- 
ing of  himself  as  a  Frenchman,  emphasizing  the  glori- 
ous past  of  France  in  an  address  before  an  American 
audience  should  refer  to  La  Fayette  and  his  French 
contemporaries  as  "our  forefathers."  "What  shall 
we  say  of  the  services  that  our  forefathers  rendered  to 
the  cause  of  American  liberty?"  This  same  attitude 
comes  out  also  in  10:  I  where  he  speaks  to  his  readers 
as  Gentiles  about  Jews:  "Brethren,  my  heart's  desire 
and  my  supplication  to  God  is  for  them."  In  7:1, 
"I  speak  to  those  who  know  the  law,"  the  Greek  has 
no  article  before  law.  He  is  writing  to  Romans  who 
"know  law." 

In  7 :  4  it  might  seem  that  the  persons  addressed  had 
previously  been  under  "the  law,"  that  is  the  Mosaic 
law,  as  Jews.  (So  Zahn.)  But  the  point  there  is 
that  the  Mosaic  law  as  an  institution  of  the  present 
age  had  been  binding  upon  all  who  belonged  to  the 
present  age,  Gentile  (2: 15)  as  well  as  Jew,  and  that 
now  through  connection  with  Christ  in  his  death,  they, 
whether  Gentile  or  Jew,  have  already  virtually  died 
out  of  the  age  to  which  the  Mosaic  law  belongs. 

31 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


The  acquaintance  with  the  Old  Testament  assumed 
in  the  letter  does  not  indicate  Jewish  readers.  Some 
Gentile  Christians  had  regularly  attended  the  syna- 
gogue service  before  becoming  Christians  and  had 
gained  there  an  acquaintance  with  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures. Other  Gentile  Christians  found  in  the  scrip- 
tures the  basis  for  the  messianic  hope  and  at  once 
became  familiar  with  their  contents. 

It  is  sometimes  argued  that  the  classes  described  in 
chapters  14-15  as  "weak"  and  "strong,"  are  Jewish 
and  Gentile  Christians.  Against  this  view  see  the 
comments  on  those  chapters. 

The  injunction  to  obey  the  civil  authorities  (13 :  1-7) 
is  sometimes  thought  to  be  particularly  applicable  to 
Jews,  always  more  or  less  resentful  of  foreign  rule. 
But  Gentile  Christians  looking  for  the  speedy  dawn  of 
the  New  Age  would  also  be  tempted  to  think  lightly 
of  present  civil  authority.  A  similar  injunction  ap- 
pears in  the  first  Epistle  of  Clement  of  Rome  to  the 
Corinthians  (chs.  60-61)  written  some  decades  later 
to  Gentile  Christians. 

(2)  Their  social  standing. 
Many  of  the  names  in  ch.  16  are  names  that  appear 
in  inscriptions  as  names  of  slaves  and  freedmen  (Light- 
foot,  Sanday-Headlam) .  The  "households"  of  Aris- 
tobulus  and  Narcissus  (10, 1 1)  would  naturally  include 
slaves.  No  lack  of  intelligence  on  the  part  of  the 
readers  can  be  inferred  from  this  fact,  for  slaves  were 
often  better  educated  than  their  masters.  Probably 
the  readers  were  in  the  main  middle  and  lower  class 

32 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


people,  as  in  Corinth  (I  Cor.  i :  26).  We  find  ourselves 
wondering  whether  the  average  Roman  Christian  got 
much  from  a  letter  that  we  find  it  so  difficult  to  under- 
stand. Allowance  needs  to  be  made  for  the  fact  that 
the  questions  discussed  and  much  of  Paul's  phraseol- 
ogy may  have  been  already  familiar  to  the  readers. 
"Doctrinal"  sermons  preached  a  century  ago  by  the 
New  England  theologians,  which  seem  unintelligible 
to  the  average  church  member  today,  were  at  the  time 
discussed  with  zest  by  the  New  England  farmers. 

(3)  Organization  of  the  church. 
In  ch.  16  it  appears  that  the  Christians  were  to  a 
certain  extent  located  in  groups  (vs.  10,  11,  14,  15)  and 
that  Prisca  and  Aquila  had  a  house  large  enough  to 
entertain  what  was  called  a  "church"  (v.  8).  In 
12 : 6-8  certain  functions  are  described,  some  of  which 
seem  to  be  administrative  and  systematically  exer- 
cised, while  others  like  prophecy  are  impulsive. 
Whether  these  various  groups  scattered  through  the 
city  and  its  suburbs  were  unified  in  a  single  organiza- 
tion with  officers  does  not  definitely  appear.  The 
very  fact  that  a  letter  could  be  addressed  to  all  the 
Christians  as  a  body  and  that  messages  could  be  sent 
to  different  individuals,  implies  the  existence  of  certain 
responsible  persons  to  receive  the  letter  and  convey 
the  messages.  Since  the  church  seems  to  have  been 
formed  in  a  rather  haphazard  way  it  may  not  have 
had  so  compact  an  organization  as  that  to  be  found 
in  the  churches  in  Thessalonica  and  Corinth,  which 
Paul  had  himself  definitely  organized.  (I  Thess. 
5:  12-14;  cf.  Acts  14:  23.) 

33 


III.  THE    DATE    AND    PLACE    OF    WRITING 

The  relative  time  of  writing  is  clear.  Paul  after 
"many  years"  (15:23)  of  preaching  the  gospel  to 
Gentiles  now  felt  that  he  had  established  this  gospel 
in  large  Gentile  cities  all  the  way  from  Jerusalem  and 
neighboring  parts  of  the  world  to  the  Adriatic,  or  to 
the  province  of  lUyricum  that  constituted  the  eastern 
Adriatic  coast  (15:  18-19).  He  is  planning  to  found 
a  Spanish  mission  on  the  western  edge  of  the  world. 
(15:22-23.)  He  has  completed  the  collection  of  a 
sum  of  money  from  the  Gentile  Christians  of  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia  for  the  poor  of  the  Jewish  Christian 
church  in  Jerusalem,  and  is  just  about  to  start  with  it 
for  Jerusalem  (15:25-27).  From  Jerusalem  he  will 
begin  his  journey  to  Spain  via  Rome  (15:28).  We 
find  other  allusions  to  this  collection  in  Paul's  extant 
correspondence  of  this  period.  It  appears  that  the 
Gentile  churches  of  Galatia  were  included  among  the 
donors  (I  Cor.  16:  i),  and  probably  also  those  of  the 
province  of  Asia  (cf.  Acts  20: 4).  The  chief  source  of 
information  about  this  collection  is  II  Cor.  8-9,  written 
by  Paul  a  little  while  before  the  letter  to  the  Romans, 
for  in  thtse  chapters  the  collection,  completed  in 
Romans,  is  near  to  completion  (II  Cor.  8:  1-4:9:  1-5)- 
At  the  time  when  these  chapters  were  written  Paul 
himself  was  in  Macedonia  expecting  soon  to  come  to 
Corinth  (II  Cor.  9:2-4).     Such  a  journey  is  men- 

34 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


tioned  in  Acts  20:  1-3,  in  which  just  before  starting 
for  Syria  he  spent  three  months  in  Greece,  presum- 
ably much  of  the  time  in  Corinth.  Therefore  Romans 
was  probably  written  in  Corinth.  If  ch.  16  is  a 
part  of  the  letter  (see  pp.  70-75),  the  reference  in 
16:1  to  Cenchreae,  one  of  the  harbor  towns  of  Cor- 
inth, is  significant.  The  Gains  mentioned  in  16:  23 
might  be  identified  with  the  Corinthian  Gains  (I  Cor. 
1:14),  and  Erastus  possibly  with  the  Erastus  of  II 
Tim.  4:  20.  Therefore  the  date  of  the  letter  was 
somewhere  between  54  and  58  A.  D.  according  to  the 
scheme  of  Pauline  chronology  that  one  might  choose 
to  adopt. 


35 


IV.  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  LETTER 

Paul  intended  Romans  to  be  a  document  that  should 
hasten  the  end  of  the  present  age.  It  was  to  be  a 
unification  platform  on  which  all  who  were  to  be  saved 
from  "the  wrath"  in  the  messianic  judgment  must 
quickly  take  their  stand  and  so  produce  a  situation 
that  would  draw  the  Lord  from  heaven  to  introduce 
the  New  Age.  In  order  to  recognize  the  justification 
for  this  statement  it  is  necessary  to  see  as  clearly  as 
possible  the  world  situation  as  it  appeared  to  Paul. 

At  the  time  of  writing  Romans  Paul  was  possessed, 
as  he  had  been  for  years,  by  a  single  passionate  desire. 
It  was  to  see  the  world  in  such  a  condition  that  the 
one  whom  he  had  learned  to  call  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
would  come  down  from  the  heavenly  spirit  world,  end 
this  present  evil,  death-smitten  flesh  age  and  by  a 
resurrection  of  the  dead  begin  the  New  Spirit  Age. 
This  consummation  seemed  to  him  not  far  distant 
(13:11-12).  Before  this  could  happen,  however, 
certain  changes  must  take  place  on  the  earth :  It  was 
the  will  of  God  that  Israel  should  be  first  brought  to 
repentance,  and  a  certain  percentage  at  least  of  the 
Gentile  world  be  prepared  for  the  salvation  of  the  New 
Age  (11:15,  25-26).  These  two  results  must  be 
speedily  secured.  Paul  himself  had  by  God's  grace 
been  made  the  unrivaled  leader  in  securing  such  a 
change  in  the  Gentile  world  as  would  lead  to  the  great 

36 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

event.  His  prime  interest,  however,  was  still  in  his 
own  nation.  His  vigorous  prosecution  of  Gentile 
evangelization  found  its  motive  partly  in  his  desire 
to  make  the  Jews  so  jealous  of  the  Gentile  Christians 
that  they  would  themselves  become  Christians:  *'  Inas- 
much then  as  I  am  an  apostle  of  Gentiles  I  glorify  my 
ministry,  if  by  any  means  I  may  provoke  to  jealousy 
them  that  are  my  flesh  and  may  save  some  of  them." 
If  this  could  be  accomplished  the  Lord  would  come  to 
resurrect  the  dead  and  begin  the  New  Age.  "For  if 
the  casting  away  of  them  (the  Jews)  is  the  reconciling 
of  the  world  what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  be  but 
life  from  the  dead."     (ii :  13-15;  see  notes.) 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  this  program  that 
Paul  felt  must  soon  and  certainly  be  carried  out  before 
the  New  Age  could  begin  seemed  to  halt.  The  Jewish 
nation  as  a  whole  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  Jesus 
messianic  movement,  especially  as  conceived  by  Paul 
and,  what  was  equally  unfortunate,  there  was  very 
little  real  Christian  sympathy  between  the  few  Jews 
who  had  become  Christians  and  the  great  body  of 
Gentile  Christians.  It  was  this  lack  of  harmony 
within  the  Christian  body  itself  that  caused  him  most 
immediate  distress. 

It  was  not  strange  that  these  two  elements  declined 
to  fuse.  The  Jews  had  long  felt  that  God  had  given 
them  a  monopoly  of  true  religion,  that  God  had  made 
them  the  sole  custodians  of  his  holy  law  (2 : 1 7-20) , 
that  the  day  would  come  when  the  Jew  would  be  the 
supreme  power  in  the  earth  (4:13),  and  be  able  to  com- 
pel everyone  to  keep  the  Mosaic  law  or  be  destroyed. 

37 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


The  New  Age  was  to  be  an  age  of  devout  keeping  of 
the  Mosaic  law.  When  Jewish  Christians  saw  multi- 
tudes of  Gentiles  joining  the  Jesus  movement  and 
looking  forward  to  full  participation  in  the  glories  of 
the  New  Age  without  having  any  special  regard  for  the 
Mosaic  law,  many  of  them  profoundly  resented  it. 
It  seemed  to  them  that  the  promise  of  the  New  Age 
had  been  made  to  Jews  who  kept  God's  holy  law  and 
that  foreigners  who  hoped  to  share  in  the  New  Age — 
as  many  indeed  might — must  of  course  be  incorporated 
into  the  body  of  law-keeping  Jews  to  whom  the  New 
Age  had  been  promised.  There  were  doubtless  vari- 
ous shades  of  opinion  among  Jewish  Christians  regard- 
ing the  relation  of  Gentile  Christians  to  the  holy  law, 
just  as  in  the  pre-Christian  period  there  had  been 
various  opinions  among  orthodox  Jews  regarding  the 
relation  of  Jehovah- worshiping  Gentiles  in  the  syna- 
gogue to  the  Mosaic  law.  (See  p.  7.)  But  there  was 
a  very  influential  element  among  Jewish  Christians 
that  felt  bitter  over  Gentile  Christianity  and  that 
regarded  Paul  as  a  selfish,  ambitious  renegade.  This 
element  would  have  exulted  over  news  of  his  death. 
A  larger  element,  though  not  bitter,  felt  very  uncom- 
fortable over  the  situation,  especially  as  the  number  of 
Gentile  converts  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds  while 
the  Christian  propaganda  among  Jews  made  little 
progress.  They  could  not  bear  to  see  the  current  of 
the  Jesus  movement  setting  so  strongly  away  from  the 
holy  law  of  Moses. 

On  the  other  hand  very  many  Gentile  Christians 
did  not  feel  drawn  to  Jewish  Christians.     Most  of 

38 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


those  who  before  they  became  Christians  had  not 
been  attendants  upon  the  synagogue  services  as  Je- 
hovah-worshiping Gentiles  ("devout  Greeks"  Acts 
17:4),  cherished  the  widespread  prejudice  against  all 
Jews.  They  were  decided  anti-semites.  When  they 
became  Christians  they  did  not  lay  aside  this  prejudice. 
When  a  white  man  who  has  a  strong  antipathy  to  the 
black  race  becomes  a  Christian,  he  does  not  instantly 
seek  close  affiliation  with  African  Christians.  Further- 
more, these  Gentile  Christians  saw  clearly  that  the 
Christian  movement  had  become  largely  a  Gentile 
affair  and  they  therefore  concluded  that  God  had  cast 
off  his  people.  As  will  appear  later,  they  thought  that 
Paul,  who  gave  himself  exclusively  to  Gentile  evan- 
gelization, agreed  with  them  in  this  opinion.  They 
looked  superciliously  down  upon  the  small  Jewish 
minority  as  insignificant  and  ratber  out  of  place  in 
the  Christian  movement.  These  Gentile  Christians 
valued  the  Jewish  scriptures  because  of  their  antiquity 
and  straightway  took  possession  of  them.  Any  reli- 
gion needed  ancient  scriptures.  The  chief  value  of 
the  Jewish  scriptures  in  their  opinion,  however,  prob- 
ably consisted  in  the  scriptural  record  of  God's  ap- 
pearances and  in  the  remarkable  non-racial  messianic 
prophecies  to  which  Paul  called  their  attention. 
Moses'  law  seemed  to  them  a  collection  of  tribal  cus- 
toms given  by  God  to  Jews,  but  not  interesting  to 
Gentiles  except  in  so  far  as  they  could  be  allegorically 
interpreted. 

A  startling  tendency  to  go  further  than  this  had 
sprung  up  here  and  there  among  Gentile  Christians. 

39 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


The  Mosaic  law  laid  great  stress  on  sexual  chastity. 
Some  Gentile  Christians  were  beginning  to  say  that 
there  was  no  ethical  value  in  personal  chastity.  In 
the  life  of  the  day  the  idea  was  widely  current  that  the 
sexual  appetite  is  in  the  same  class  with  the  appetite 
for  food  and  may  with  perfect  propriety  be  as  pro- 
miscuously gratified.  Some  converts  did  not  revolt 
from  this  traditional  pre-supposition  when  they  be- 
came Christians.  Paul  found  it  necessary  to  protest 
against  this  view  in  the  church  with  which  he  was 
staying  when  he  wrote  Romans  (I  Cor.  6:9-17). 

Now  in  order  to  bring  the  preparation  for  the  Lord's 
coming  speedily  to  a  close  Paul  was  planning  to  do 
three  things,  (i)  He  proposed  to  establish  his  last 
great  Gentile  mission  in  the  rich  Romanized  civiliza- 
tion of  Spain,  and  so  practically  complete  the  evangel- 
ization of  the  Gentile  world.  He  may  have  thought 
that  Christian  evangelization  could  proceed  swiftly 
from  Spain  to  centers  in  Gaul  and  Britain.  His 
language  in  Rom.  15 :  19  shows  that  he  was  not  looking 
for  any  thorough  evangelization  of  all  the  individuals 
in  the  world.  He  thought  in  terms  of  provinces  (e.g., 
I  Cor.  16:1;  n  Cor.  8:1;  9:2;  Rom.  16:5).  Such 
swift  establishment  of  the  gospel  in  centers  as  had 
characterized  his  evangelization  of  the  East  now  com- 
pleted (15: 19),  might  also  be  accomplished  within  a 
very  few  years  in  the  less  populous  regions  of  Spain, 
Gaul  and  Britain.  This  would  amply  meet  what  he 
conceived  to  be  the  demands  of  the  task  of  Gentile 
evangelization  laid  upon  him  in  preparation  for  his 
Lord's  coming. 

40 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


(2)  For  several  years  he  had  been  working  person- 
ally and  through  agents  to  gather  a  large  sum  of 
money  from  the  Gentile  Churches  to  be  carried  by  a 
committee  of  their  members  (I  Cor.  16:  3)  to  the  great 
Jewish  mother  church  in  Jerusalem.  He  hoped  in 
this  practical  way  to  overcome  the  anti-semitic  spirit 
among  Gentile  Christians  and  to  abate  the  Jewish 
prejudice  against  liberal  Gentile  Christianity.  This 
would  be  a  decided  step  forward  in  preparation  for  the 
Lord's  coming.  He  was  not  certain  of  success,  but 
with  his  usual  optimism  he  hoped,  and  was  endeavoring 
to  enlist  the  prayers  of  the  Roman  Christians  (Rom. 

15:30-31)- 

(3)  Just  at  this  critical  juncture  in  the  process  of 
securing  such  a  situation  on  the  earth  as  would  lead 
God  to  send  his  Son  from  heaven,  he  prepared  with 
great  care  a  document  calculated  to  contribute  largely 
to  this  end.  He  prepared  a  platform  on  which,  as  it 
seemed  to  him,  all  Christians  must  come  together,  and 
afterward  be  joined  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Jewish 
nation  in  readiness  for  the  New  Age.  This  platform 
Is  the  letter  to  the  Romans.  It  does  not  present  a  full 
statement  of  Paul's  Christian  teaching,  but  in  the  main 
only  those  points  regarding  which  Jew  and  Gentile 
might  find  it  difficult  to  agree. 

Before  discussing  the  nature  of  this  platform  it  is  in 
place  to  show  with  what  purpose  such  a  platform  was 
just  at  this  time  sent  to  the  Roman  Christians  rather 
than  to  others.  Paul  wished  the  church  in  Rome  to 
identify  itself  with  this  unification  platform  because 
the  church  in  Rome  would  be  the  natural  supporter 

41 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


of  all  evangelization  carried  on  in  the  regions  west  of 
Rome,  just  as  the  Antioch  church  had  for  a  time  been 
his  base  of  supplies  at  an  earlier  period.  The  work  in 
Spain  and  Gaul  would  need  sympathy  and  prayer, 
friendly  visitors  and  evangelists  from  the  church  in 
Rome.  Especially  if  Paul  should  be  assassinated  in 
Jerusalem  within  the  next  few  months  as  he  feared 
(Rom.  15:31),  and  with  good  reason  (Acts  20:3; 
23:12-13),  that  he  might  be,  there  would  be  great 
need  that  Christians  in  Rome  should  push  on  into  the 
West  with  this  statement  of  the  Gospel,  which  seemed 
to  Paul  the  only  one  that  could  prevail.  He  knew 
that  there  was  some  prejudice  against  him  in  Rome 
because,  although  he  had  several  times  come  as  near 
to  them  as  Corinth,  he  had  hitherto  failed  to  visit  them 
(Rom.  1:8-13;  15:22-24).  He  knew  also  that  the 
Christian  "ministers  of  Satan"  (H  Cor.  11:13-15), 
who  had  recently  misrepresented  him  and  his  gospel 
in  Corinth,  would  doubtless  try  to  do  the  same  thing 
in  Rome,  especially  when  they  learned  of  his  extensive 
plan  for  work  in  Spain. 

There  was  therefore  very  great  reason  for  putting 
on  deposit  with  the  Christians  at  Rome  just  at  this 
juncture  a  full,  careful,  conciliatory  statement  of  cer- 
tain fundamental  features  of  Paul's  gospel. 

Such  a  statement  would  of  course  be  useful  in  other 
places  than  Rome.  Evidence  will  be  noted  later  (p. 
68)  for  the  conjecture  that  the  m.ain  body  of  the  letter 
went  also  to  other  places,  but  F.ome  was  the  place  of 
strategic  importance,  both  because  Rome  had  not 
had  the  advantage  of  Paul's  personal  preaching  as 

■^2 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


other  places  had,  and  because  Rome  could  do  what  no 
other  church  could  do  for  the  immediate  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  unevangelized  West. 

It  was  suitable  also  from  this  point  of  view  that 
Paul  should  make  the  most  of  all  possible  points  of 
personal  contact  with  the  church,  as  he  does  in  the 
long  list  of  personal  greetings  in  ch.  i6. 

It  is  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  what  has  been  said 
about  the  purpose  of  the  letter,  to  see  in  ch.  14  a  refer- 
ence to  certain  local  conditions  in  Rome  which  it 
might  be  Paul's  purpose  to  correct.  The  situation 
there  described,  however,  was  one  that  might  also 
arise  in  almost  any  Gentile  church  at  any  time  (see 
notes). 


43 


V.  THE  MAIN   IDEAS  OF  THE   LETTER 

What  are  the  principal  articles  in  this  platform  of 
unification,  and  what  was  their  application  to  the 
general  situation? 

I,  After  an  introduction,  in  which  Paul  dissipates 
any  possible  suspicion  that  he  did  not  sufhciently 
appreciate  the  importace  of  the  Roman  Christians 
(i :  8-9)  and  had  not  cared  enough  for  them  to  pay 
them  a  visit  until  now  that  he  had  a  chance  to  use 
them  (1:10-13),  he  introduces  his  first  great  idea 
which  runs  through  five  chapters:  God  in  great  love  has 
long  planned,  as  we  know  from  the  prophets,  to  declare 
men  righteous,  that  is,  fit  for  the  salvation  of  the  New 
Age,  in  view  of  their  belief,  or  faith,  in  Jesus  Christ,  who 
died  for  them,  a  method  of  precedure  needed  by  everyone, 
Jew  as  well  as  Gentile,  and  available  for  everyone,  Gen- 
tile as  well  as  Jew,  without  subjection  to  the  details  of 
the  Mosaic  law. 

The  civilization  of  great  Gentile  cities,  with  its  hide- 
ous and  abnormal  vices  openly  recognized,  shows  the 
world's  need  of  something  to  make  it  fit  for  the  judg- 
ment that  is  the  gateway  into  the  New  Age  (i :  18-32). 
The  Jew,  who  stands  as  the  venerable  critic  of  the 
world's  unrighteousness,  is  himself  unfit  for  the  judg- 
ment (2:  1-29).  He  has  a  dark  record.  He  cannot 
claim  that  God's  favor  in  making  him  custodian  of  the 
law  of  Moses  guarantees  his  acquittal  in  the  judgment 

44 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


day,  for  God  has  also  deposited  the  substance  of  the 
same  law  with  the  Gentiles — in  their  hearts  (2:  13- 
15) — and  certainly  the  Gentiles  are  not  fit  for  the 
judgment !  Nothing  but  doing  the  law  could  help  the 
one  who  relies  on  it  as  his  sufficient  friend  in  the 
judgment  day  (2:  17-29). 

To  be  sure  it  has  been  a  great  advantage  to  the  Jew 
through  all  the  generations  to  possess  the  sacred 
scriptures,  for  they  contain  the  messianic  promises, 
but  this  advantage  has  not  made  him  fit  to  survive  the 
judgment  and  pass  on  into  the  New  Age  (3:  1-9). 
His  own  scriptures  fairly  loathe  his  conduct  (3:  10- 
19) !  Law,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  can  never 
fit  flesh  for  the  salvation  of  the  New  Age  of  spirit 
(3:20). 

God  has  long  been  revealing  through  the  prophets 
a  way  of  fitting  all  willing  men  for  the  New  Age.  It 
is  the  way  of  penitent,  obedient  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  bloody  death  at  the  end  of  the  old  age  is  the 
monumental  witness  to  God's  righteous  and  forgiving 
love,  available  for  all  who  in  penitent  faith  obey  Jesus 
as  Lord  (3:21-30).  Such  men  of  penitent  faith  are 
the  only  ones  who  find  themselves  able  to  realize  in 
conduct  the  ethical  ideal  of  God's  holy  law  (3:31). 
(On  the  meaning  of  faith  see  notes  on  i :  i,  16). 

The  proud  Jewish  nation,  now  holding  aloof  from 
the  Jesus  messianic  movement,  must  recognize  and 
adopt  this  way  of  faith.  Great  Jews  like  Abraham 
and  David  knew  no  other  way.  Are  ordinary  Jews 
better  than  they?  (4:  1-12.)  In  Abraham's  case  it 
was  faith  alone  that  won  from  God  the  messianic 

45 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


promise  of  a  world.  It  is  faith  alone  on  the  part  of 
Abraham's  descendants  (and  believing  Gentiles  also 
are  such)  that  can  claim  the  promise  in  the  New  Age 
(4:  13-25).  It  is  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  that  is  the  way 
for  all  into  peaceful,  triumphant,  steadfast  waiting  in 
the  midst  of  afflictions  for  the  glory  of  the  New  Age 
(5:  i-ii).  Jesus  Christ  is  the  founder  of  a  new  race, 
the  deathless  race  of  the  New  Age,  which  will  displace 
the  death-smitten  race  that  Adam  introduced  (5:  12- 
19) .  Law  made  the  perverse  race  of  Adam,  not  better 
but  worse,  that  God  might  have  a  better  opportunity 
to  show  in  mightier  fashion  the  way  of  faith  (5 :  20-2 1 ) . 
2.  The  second  of  the  main  ideas  of  the  unification 
platform  runs  through  chapters  6-8.  In  chs.  1-5 
allusion  has  been  made  to  the  function  of  the  Mosaic 
law  (3:  20,  31 ;  5:  20),  and  now  in  chs.  6-8  Paul  takes 
up  the  question  for  more  thorough  discussion.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  delicate  points  in  his  gospel.  On  the 
one  hand  he  wishes  Gentile  Christians  to  respect  the 
ethical  ideals  of  the  law  without  subjecting  themselves 
to  its  details — which  he  knows  most  of  them  would 
never  do.  On  the  other  hand  he  wishes  Jewish 
Christians  and  orthodox  Jews  to  see  that  the  valuable 
function  which  the  law  has  to  perform  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  the  traditional  Jewish  the- 
ology ascribes  to  it.  He  wishes  to  increase  the 
respect  of  Gentile  Christians  for  the  law,  without 
inducing  them  to  become  dependent  upon  it  as  a 
means  of  securing  approval  in  the  judgment  day. 
He  wishes  to  change  the  attitude  of  Jews,  both 
Christian  and  non-Christian,  toward  it  so  that,  with- 

46 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


out  abating  their  respect  for  it,  they  may  at  least 
recognize  the  liberty  of  Gentile  Christians  not  to  obey 
its  details — whatever  is  to  be  the  practice  of  Jewish 
Christians  themselves  in  this  particular. 

Liitgert  has  clearly  shown  that  the  dominant  note 
in  the  discussion  of  this  difficult  question  is  one  of 
warning  addressed  directly  to  Gentile  Christians.  It 
is  not  one  of  apology  and  explanation  to  critical  Jewish 
Christians  who  wrongly  suppose  that  Paul's  gospel 
encourages  sin.  It  is  exhortation  (6:  11-12,  19;  8:  12- 
15)  to  Gentile  Christians  who  are  in  danger  of  sinning 
and  who  are  inclined  gladly  to  assume  that  Paul's 
gospel  gives  them  warrant  for  doing  so.  These  Gen- 
tile Christians  must  realize  that  sin,  against  which 
the  holy  law  of  Moses  protests,  has  no  place  in  the  life 
of  faith.  The  recent  development  of  licentiousness  in 
the  Gentile  Christian  church  (I  Cor.  5-6)  has  shocked 
Paul  and  made  him  realize  the  necessity  of  urging 
strenuously  upon  all  Gentile  Christians  respect  for 
the  ethical  standards  of  Moses'  law. 

The  main  idea  that  runs  through  chs.  6-8  is  this: 
Men  who  have  started  in  God's  way  of  righteousness  by 
believing  in  Jesus  Christ  have  already  been  laid  hold  of 
by  the  powers  of  the  Coming  Age  of  spirit,  and  must 
therefore  surely  break  with  Sin  which  reigns  in  this 
present  age  of  flesh  {6:i-y:6).  They  can  and  must 
attain  to  the  ethical  ideal  that  the  holy  law  of  Moses  held 
up  but  could  never  enforce  (7;  6-8:  ly,  especially  8: 1-4). 
Their  present  victorious  alliance  with  the  spirit  world 
guarantees  them  a  glorious  life  with  Christ  in  the  Coming 
Age  of  spirit  {8: 18-39), 

47 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


This  main  idea  is  worked  out  in  detail.  Faith  in 
Christ,  who  through  death,  burial  and  resurrection  has 
passed  into  the  sinless  spirit  world,  involves  a  vital 
union  with  him,  which  virtually  carries  us  also  into 
that  sinless  region  as  our  initiatory  baptism  teaches 
(6:i-ii).  Gentile  Christians  must  not  argue  that 
their  bodies,  which  belong  to  this  flesh  age  and  will 
soon  disappear  in  its  break-up,  can  therefore  in  the 
meantime  be  used  as  agents  of  Sin  without  detriment 
to  the  spirit  (6:  12-14).  Such  use  of  the  body  or  its 
*' members"  in  the  service  of  Sin  is  not  to  be  thought 
of  by  those  who,  although  they  are  not  to  be  sure, 
keeping  the  Mosaic  law,  have  become  servants  of  God, 
and  are  just  about  to  begin  the  life  of  the  New  Age 
(6:15-23). 

The  men  of  faith  have  virtually  died  out  of  the 
sphere  of  flesh,  in  which  the  law  operates,  but  they  are 
not,  therefore,  left  without  any  ethical  restraint. 
They  are  living  with  their  Lord  in  the  spirit  world  and 
must  serve  God  there  (7:  1-6). 

Then  follows  a  defence  of  the  law  which  consists  in 
showing  what  its  true  function  is.  This  defence  is 
against  the  criticisms  passed  upon  the  law  by  many 
Gentile  Christians,  who  wrongly  think  that  Paul 
agrees  with  them.  Many  Jews,  too,  both  Christians 
and  non-Christians  suppose  that  Paul  holds  the  view 
of  the  law  wrongly  attributed  to  him  by  this  section 
of  Gentile  Christians. 

These  Gentile  Christians  criticize  the  law  as  being 
itself  a  sinful  agency  (7 :  7)  belonging,  as  Paul  himself 
teaches  (7 :  5-6) ,  in  the  age  of  flesh  dominated  by  Sin. 

48 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


Paul  resents  this  misinterpretation  of  his  teaching. 
The  law  does  indeed  belong  in  Sin's  flesh  age  and  it 
cannot  make  anyone  righteous.  It  is  not,  however,  a 
sinful  agency.  It  is  a  holy  and  righteous  (7:  12)  de- 
vice of  God  put  down  into  the  flesh  age,  not  to  make 
men  righteous  directly,  but  to  make  them  realize  how 
badly  off  they  really  are  (7:  7-12). 

The  Gentile  Christian  critic  of  the  law  replies  that 
anyway,  according  to  Paul's  own  teaching,  the  law, 
however  good  it  may  be,  produces  death  (7:  13).  It 
is  a  deadly  thing  and  therefore  must  be  absolutely 
shunned.  On  the  contrary,  Paul  says,  it  is  not  the 
law  but  Sin  that  produces  death,  Sin  which  the  Gen- 
tile Christian  does  not  hate  as  he  should.  The  law  is 
something  that  holds  up  the  ideals  of  the  spirit  world 
(7: 14a)  and  thereby  reveals  the  presence  and  deadly 
nature  of  Sin.  This,  however,  is  all  that  the  law  can 
do.  It  can  produce  conflict  between  the  higher  and 
lower  elements  of  personality,  in  which  conflict  the 
lower  elements  prevail  and  produce  despair.  The  law 
cannot  give  victory  (7:  13-25).  Victory  comes 
through  alliance  with  the  mighty  powers  of  the  spirit 
world  into  which  Jesus  Christ  has  gone,  an  alliance 
which  is  ours  because  in  faith  we  are  vitally  attached 
to  his  personality  and  walk  with  him  in  the  spirit 
world.  Through  this  alliance  comes  power  to  realize 
the  ethical  ideal  presented  by  the  law  (8 ;  4) ,  which  is 
the  life  of  love  (cf.  13: 8-10). 

The  Gentile  Christian  therefore  must  profoundly 
respect  the  ethical  ideal  of  the  Mosaic  law,  though 
he  sees  that  the  law  is  powerless  to  help  him  realize 

49 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


its  ideal  and  that  the  law  is  an  institution  whose  details 
are  shaped  to  the  flesh  age  to  which  he  no  longer  be- 
longs. The  Jew  too,  of  course,  must  take  this  view  of 
the  Mosaic  law.  Whatever  he  may  see  fit  to  do  about 
this  or  that  detail  of  the  law  now,  he  must  recognize 
that  these  details  are  not  to  prevail  in  the  Coming  Age. 
The  perfection  of  righteousness  which  is  to  character- 
ize that  Age  will  not  consist  in  the  perfect  obedience 
to  all  details  of  Moses'  law  urged  by  the  rabbis.  Only 
its  ethical  ideal,  love,  will  dominate  the  New  Age  of 
spirit  (cf.  I  Cor.  13:  13). 

The  Gentile  Christians  on  the  border  land  of  the 
flesh  and  spirit  worlds,  but  in  victorious  alliance  with 
the  powers  of  the  spirit  world,  must  not  yield  to  Sin 
in  the  flesh,  but  must  look  forward  with  steadfast  con- 
fidence to  the  dawning  of  the  New  Age,  certain  that 
God  will  give  them  its  glory  since  nothing  can  separate 
them  from  the  love  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  (8: 12-39). 

3.  The  third  of  the  main  ideas  in  Paul's  unification 
platform  is  found  in  chs.  9-1 1.  It  concerns  the  pres- 
ent and  prospective  attitude  of  the  Jewish  nation  to 
the  Jesus  messianic  movement.  These  chapters  are 
to  be  understood  as  addressed  to  Gentile  Christians 
who  think  that  God  has  abandoned  the  Jews,  giving 
them  as  a  nation  no  part  in  the  Jesus  messianic  move- 
ment, and  who  think  that  Paul,  the  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles,  the  object  of  his  nation's  scorn,  also  holds 
this  opinion.  They  believe  that  God  must  have  long 
planned  to  cast  the  Jewish  nation  off"  because  of  its 
perversity,  otherwise  the  present  vigorous  and  vicious 
Jewish  opposition  to  the  Christian  movement  would 
50 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


necessitate  the  impossible  conclusion  that  God's  plan 
to  include  them  had  gone  awry  (9:6).  Paul  himself 
has  been  known  to  recognize  the  extreme  viciousness 
of  Jewish  antagonism  to  Christianity  in  language 
that  might  be  interpreted  to  describe  the  hopelessness 
of  their  condition  (I  Thess.  2:14-16).  His  recent 
bitter  conflict  with  Jewish  antagonists  in  Corinth  (II 
Cor.  II :  13-22)  might  easily  be  supposed  to  have  con- 
firmed his  natural  antagonism  to  his  nation.  In 
general  Paul's  line  of  thought  is  this :  The  present  gen- 
eration of  Jews  has  been  in  the  main  cast  off  by  God,  in 
accordance  with  his  well-established  policy  of  introducing 
messianic  salvation  by  a  mysterious  process  of  appar- 
ently arbitrary  selection  {g:  i-2g).  They  have  been  left 
to  persist  obstinately  in  their  fatal  devotion  to  righteous- 
ness by  law.  {g:  30-10 '.  21.)  Yet  God  has  not  cast  off 
the  nation  as  a  whole.  He  will  use  the  triumphs  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  Gentiles  to  stir  up  the  jealousy  of  his 
chosen  people  to  whom,  in  the  persons  of  the  fathers,  he 
once  for  all  long  ago  gave  pre-eminence  in  the  messianic 
plan.  Their  speedy  turning  to  the  Jesus  movement 
will  end  the  present  age  (ch.  11). 

After  solemnly  disclaiming  the  hostile  attitude 
toward  his  nation  that  Gentile  Christians  attribute 
to  him  (9:  1-5;  cf.  10:  1-2)  Paul  gives  his  explanation 
of  the  present  strange  phenomenon.  The  present  sit- 
uation of  the  nation  is  simply  another  instance  of  God's 
well-established  policy,  namely,  to  prepare  for  mes- 
sianic salvation  by  the  apparently  arbitrary  selection 
of  some  and  the  passing  over  of  others.  God  has 
simply  passed  over  the  present  generation  of  Jews. 

51 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


He  passed  over  certain  patriarchal  families  (9:7-13) 
and  the  large  obdurate  majority  in  Isaiah's  day 
(9:27-29).  It  may  seem  to  some  Gentile  Christians 
wrong  to  ascribe  this  policy  of  arbitrary  selection  to  a 
righteous  God  (9:  14).  They  may  think  it  would  be 
better  to  say  that  the  Jews  as  a  nation  are  so  bad  that 
God  has  cast  them  off.  But  the  scripture  certainly 
does  ascribe  arbitrary  selection  to  him  (9:  15-18),  and 
no  one  may  be  so  presumptuous  as  to  criticize  his 
methods  (9: 19-21). 

The  terrible  fault  of  this  generation  of  Jews,  itself 
the  evidence  that  God  has  passed  them  by,  is  the  fact 
that  they  would  not  adopt  the  unification  platform 
which  this  letter  presents,  namely  the  platform  of 
righteousness  through  faith  (9:30-10:4) — faith  clear, 
simple,  widely  proclaimed  (10:5-18). 

But  God  has  not  cast  off  the  nation  as  a  whole 
(11:1-2).  Even  of  this  rejected  generation  (11:8- 
10)  there  is  a  remnant  saved  (11: 4-6) ,  and  this  genera- 
tion, which  is  now  nearly  ended  (more  than  twenty- 
five  years  have  passed  since  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus) , 
will  soon  give  place  to  another  which  will  be  moved 
by  sight  of  evangelistic  success  among  the  Gentiles  to 
join  the  Christian  movement.  This  will  at  once  usher 
in  the  New  Age  (11:11-15).  Therefore  Gentile 
Christians  everywhere  must  lay  aside  their  anti- 
semitic  prejudice  and  humbly  recognize  the  primacy 
of  the  Jew  in  the  plan  of  God  (11:  16-32,  especially 
18,  20,  25). 

4.  In  12:  1-15:  13  Paul  discusses  the  details  of  the 
ethical  ideal  which  are  to  he  wrought  out  in  the  conduct 

52 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


of  the  men  of  faith  while  they  are  waiting  for  the  dawning 
of  the  New  Age. 

In  general  they  are  to  discard  the  habits  of  this 
present  flesh  age,  and  are  to  give  the  re-enforced 
"mind,"  or  spiritual  nature,  free  opportunity  to  live, 
here  and  now,  the  life  of  the  Coming  Age  of  spirit 
(12:  1-2). 

After  a  vivid,  morally  challenging  portrait  of  the 
man  waiting  for  the  New  Age  (12 : 3-21),  there  follows 
a  warning  against  lack  of  respect  for  civil  authority 
(13:  1-7),  a  warning  perhaps  particularly  pertinent  in 
Rome,  for  if  the  Christians  there  just  under  the  Em- 
peror's eye  should  become  objects  of  his  suspicion. 
Christians  all  over  the  empire  might  suffer,  evangeliza- 
tion be  checked  and  the  Lord's  coming  delayed. 

Christians  must  be  scrupulous  about  paying  their 
debts  and  must  not  count  on  the  speedy  break-up  of 
the  present  age  as  a  time  of  escape  from  such  obliga- 
tions (13:  8-10;  cf.  I  Thess.  4: 11-12). 

A  difference  of  opinion  has  arisen  in  Rome,  and  is 
likely  to  arise  elsewhere,  between  vegetarians  and  meat 
eaters,  a  difference  of  opinion  which  threatens  the 
harmony  that  must  characterize  those  who  are  waiting 
for  their  Lord  (14: 1-15: 13). 


53 


VI.  THE  RELATION  OF  ROMANS  TO 
GALATIANS 

The  similarity  of  Romans  to  Galatians,  a  letter  writ- 
ten a  few  years  earlier,  is  at  once  apparent.  This  sim- 
ilarity is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  both  Paul  has  occasion 
to  employ  phraseology  that  had  become  somewhat 
stereotyped  through  long  use  in  oral  discussion.  In 
one  particular,  however,  there  seems  at  first  glance  to 
be  a  decided  difference  of  viewpoint  in  the  two  letters. 
Paul  seems  in  Romans  to  speak  much  more  apprecia- 
tively of  the  law  of  Moses  than  in  Galatians.  In 
Romans  he  calls  the  law  "holy  and  righteous  and 
good"  (7:12,  16);  "spiritual"  (7:14),  the  "law  of 
God"  (7:22,  25;  8:7),  something  which  he  desires  to 
"establish"  (3:31),  something  to  which  his  gospel 
secures  an  obedience  otherwise  impossible  (8 : 3-4) . 
In  Galatians,  on  the  other  hand,  he  speaks  of  the  law 
with  depreciation  as  something  which  God  allowed  a 
group  of  angels  to  put  into  Moses'  hand  for  delivery 
to  the  people  through  him  as  their  mediator — a  trans- 
action utterly  inferior  to  his  own  direct  approach 
earlier  to  Abraham  with  the  covenant  of  "faith" 
(3 : 1 7-20) .  He  even  goes  so  far  as  to  call  a  return  to 
the  law  on  the  part  of  Galatian  Christians  a  return  to 
the  "weak  and  beggarly  elements,"  probably  referring 
to  angelic  beings  whom  they  had  worshiped  as  deities 
before  they  became  Christians  (4:9). 

54 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

In  connection  with  this  apparent  difference  of  view- 
point, certain  fundamental  points  cf  agreement  ought 
not  to  be  overlooked.  In  both  letters  the  essential 
requirement  of  the  law  is  represented  to  be  the  divine 
activity,  "love"  (Gal.  5:  14-15;  Rom.  13:8-10).  In 
both,  the  lav/  appears  not  as  a  primitive  institution  but 
an  after  thought  (Gal.  3:  17;  Rom.  5:  20),  meant  to 
be  transient  (Gal.  3:25;  Rom.  7:  4;  10:  14),  an  insti- 
tution belonging  to  the  present  flesh  age,  not  destined 
to  prevail  in  the  New  Age  (Gal.  4:8-11;  Rom. 
in  4-6).  In  both,  its  function  is  to  make  sin  appear 
in  open  transgression  (Gal.  3:  19;  Rom.  5:  20),  and  so 
to  prepare  the  transgressor  to  appreciate  Jesus  Christ 
the  Saviour  (Gal.  3 :  22-24;  Rom.  7 :  7-25).  This  last 
point  is  most  clearly  wrought  out  in  Rom.  7:7-25. 
The  law  with  the  life  of  love  as  its  high  spiritual  ideal 
was  put  down  into  the  flesh  age  where  "Sin"  and 
"Death"  reign.  It  was  not  able  to  cope  with  these 
terribly  malignant  lords  of  the  flesh  age.  Sin  instantly 
seized  upon  it  and  shrewdly  used  it  as  a  device  for 
getting  flesh  men  to  commit  sin,  that  is,  disobey  the 
law,  incur  its  penalty  and  so  come  under  the  power  of 
Death.  This  conduct  revealed  the  true  devilishness 
of  Sin.  Sin  had  its  mask  stripped  off  and  was  "shown 
to  be  Sin  by  working  death  to  me  through  that  which 
is  good — that  through  the  commandment  Sin  might 
become  exceeding  sinful"  (Rom.  7:  13).  God  over- 
ruled this  maltreatment  of  his  law  by  Sin,  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  Sin  really  accomplish  the  divine  pur- 
pose. Law,  so  misused,  made  sinful  men  appreciate 
Jesus  Christ,  the  deliverer  of  men  from  bondage  to 

55 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


Sin  and  Death.  He  came  down  into  Sin's  flesh  world, 
a  sinless  being,  overcame  Sin  by  a  death  and  resur- 
rection that  demonstrated  his  superiority  and  so  en- 
abled him  to  bring  Sin's  flesh  age  to  a  termination  in 
the  judgment  day  (Rom.  8:3).  Of  course,  under  such 
circumstances,  according  to  both  Romans  and  Gala- 
tians,  any  one  would  be  a  fool  to  rely  for  acquittal  in 
the  judgment  day  on  a  law  which  had  not  been  able 
to  stand  up  and  enforce  itself  against  Sin  and  Death. 
Gentile  Christians  who  should  do  this  would  be  simply 
falling  back  into  their  old  bondage  to  "the  Elements," 
their  old  pagan  deities  (Gal.  4:9).  All  Jews,  too,  who 
should  rely  on  this  impotent  law  for  righteousness 
would  be  in  this  same  sad  bondage  to  the  lords  of  the 
present  flesh  age  in  which  we  all  live  (cf .  note  on  3 :  21). 

In  this  view  of  the  case  it  is  not  necessary  to  identify 
the  "angels"  of  Gal.  3:  19,  through  whom  the  law 
came  with  the  "weak  and  beggarly  "  deity  "elements" 
of  Gal.  4:9,  who  preside  over  the  present  age,  al- 
though one  is  sometimes  tempted  to  do  so.  Still  less 
is  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  in  Gal.  4:8-11  Paul 
recognizes  behind  the  written  law  a  personal  being, 
"Law, "which  he  classifies  among  the  deity  "Ele- 
ments." 

The  peculiar  warmth  of  feeling  with  which  in  Gala- 
tians  he  says  what  he  has  to  say  against  the  law,  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  Galatians  was  written  in  the  heat  of 
bitter  controversy,  when  Paul  was  endeavoring  with 
all  his  power  to  prevent  the  fatal  lapse  of  his  Galatian 
converts  from  faith-righteousness  into  rabbinic  devo- 
tion to  the  Mosaic  law.   On  the  other  hand,  the  pecu- 

56 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


liar  glow  of  devotion  with  which  in  Romans  he  says 
w^hat  he  always  has  so  say  in  favor  of  the  law,  may  be 
due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  interval  between  the  writ- 
ing of  Galatians  and  Romans  had  occurred  the  scan- 
dalous licentiousness  of  some  of  his  Gentile  converts 
in  the  Corinthian  church  together  with  what  was 
worse,  the  general  indifference  of  a  great  Gentile 
church  to  such  conduct  (I  Cor.  5:2,  9-13).  This  may 
have  somewhat  frightened  him  and  made  him  feel 
that  he  must  maintain  among  all  Gentile  Christians 
respect  for  the  ethical  requirements  of  the  law.  Such 
respect  would  be  especially  urged  in  a  document  in- 
tended to  provide  a  unification  platform  for  Jewish 
and  Gentile  Christianity. 


57 


VII.    ROMANS   AND   MODERN   RELIGIOUS 
EXPERIENCE 

As  has  been  said,  Romans  reports  a  great  religious 
experience  interpreted  necessarily  in  the  terms  of  the 
pre-suppositions  current  in  Paul's  world  of  thought. 
Some  of  these  pre-suppositions  have  disappeared  from 
modern  thought.  We  do  not  think  of  a  series  of 
heavens  above  us;  we  do  not  take  for  granted  the 
malign  influence  of  angels  and  demons  in  the  lower 
heavens,  the  two  ages,  the  sin  of  Adam,  the  impending 
end  of  the  world.  What  is  there  in  the  religious  ex- 
perience reported  in  Romans  that  can  be  reproduced 
in  our  day  and  interpreted  in  the  terms  of  our  own 
thought?  Is  the  letter  anything  more  than  a  contri- 
bution to  the  history  of  past  religious  experience?  If 
we  can  set  our  minds  at  rest  on  this  point  we  shall 
be  able  to  proceed  to  the  exegetical  study  of  the  letter 
from  the  historical  standpoint  with  greater  freedom 
and  comfort. 

The  letter  is  of  great  and  lasting  value,  for  its  funda- 
mental ideas  present  an  insistent  challenge  to  men  in 
all  ages.  There  are  certain  features  of  the  religious 
experience  reported  here  that  have  repeatedly  proved 
themselves  to  be  capable  of  reproduction  and  central 
in  the  truly  religious  life.  Some  of  them  may  be 
barely  mentioned  here. 

58 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


1.  Peace  with  God  through  faith  in  Christ  was  the 
fundamental  feature  of  Paul's  and  all  other  early  Chris- 
tian experience.  Having  faith  in  Christ  means  for  us, 
as  it  did  for  Paul,  adopting  the  ideals  of  Jesus  and 
reaching  out  to  his  immortal  spirit  for  help  in  realizing 
them.  His  ideals  seem  to  us  essentially  as  they  did  to 
Paul,  a  daily  life  of  prayerful  obedient  love  to  God, 
the  Heavenly  Father;  a  daily  life  of  loving  relation- 
ship to  our  fellowmen;  the  daily  practice  of  immor- 
tality. When  we  commit  ourselves  irrevocably  to 
these  ideals  and  let  our  affections  follow  the  immortal 
spirit  of  Jesus  out  into  the  unseen  world  for  help  in 
realizing  them,  we  too,  like  Paul,  find  ourselves  ex- 
periencing a  growing  awareness  of  an  unseen  world  of 
which  we  triumphantly  feel  ourselves  to  be  an  inde- 
structible part.  We  find  within  us  a  deepening  peace 
with  God  the  Father  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We 
find  the  sense  of  forgiveness,  redemption  from  bondage 
to  the  evil  will,  whatever  be  our  theory  regarding  the 
source  of  the  evil  will  and  the  psychological  nature  of 
our  contact  with  the  unseen  world  of  responsive 
spiritual  reality. 

2.  The  vast  scope  of  God^s  plans  in  space  and  time 
fired  Paul's  imagination  and  kindled  his  religious  feel- 
ing. Paul  is  often  misrepresented  as  predominantly 
a  teacher  of  purely  individualistic  religion.  The  in- 
dividual through  faith  in  Christ  does  find  forgiveness 
and  peace  of  mind.  But  Paul  saw  much  more  than 
this  in  his  daily  thought  of  God  and  the  world.  In 
the  foreground  of  his  thought  were  vast  heavens, 
great  cosmic  personalities  moving  through  them,  ages 

59 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


ending  and  beginning,  the  cataclysmic  overthrow  of 
vast  unseen  powers. 

We  may  not  at  all  follow  him  here  in  the  details  of 
his  outlook  but  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  scope  of 
vision.  We,  too,  reach  out  into  a  vast  universe  and 
find  great  power  operating  there,  although  we  con- 
ceive it  to  be  working  in  evolutionary  ways.  And, 
like  Paul,  our  religious  experience  is  shaped  by  think- 
ing of  the  love  of  God  as  the  controlling  triumph- 
ant source  of  cosmic  movements,  a  loving  personal 
power  at  the  heart  of  a  universe  in  process  of  evolution, 
guaranteeing  to  men  an  eternal  career  not  simply  as 
individuals  but  as  a  race. 

3.  The  death  suffering  of  Christ  is  an  expression  of 
the  love  of  God  triumphantly  operating  to  overcome  evil. 
Here  we  do  not  necessarily  follow  Paul  in  his  varied 
effort  to  think  this  idea  in  the  terms  of  Jewish  sacri- 
fice, the  defeat  of  deified  angels,  astral  "Elements" 
or  personal  beings  "Sin"  and  "Death."  But  human 
experience  generation  after  generation  finds  a  power- 
ful redeeming  moral  incentive  and  satisfaction  in 
realizing  that  the  evil  human  will  causes  suffering  to 
the  heart  of  the  Heavenly  Father,  and  that  the  burden 
of  sharing  and  revealing  this  suffering  was  necessarily 
borne  by  Jesus  Christ  as  he  entered  intimately  into 
the  experience  of  the  unseen  Father.  From  such 
"love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus"  we  too  feel  that  no 
malign  power  can  ever  separate  us  (8:  38-39). 

4.  Paul's  estimate  of  the  personality  of  Jesus  assigned 
to  it  the  supreme  place  next  to  God.  Paul  worked 
this  idea  out  not  only  in  terms  of  moral  supremacy  but 

60 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


also  of  physical  creation — though  this  latter  idea  is 
not  explicitly  stated  in  Romans.  Jesus  Christ  acted 
for  God  in  the  making  of  all  worlds  and  angels  as  well 
as  in  their  moral  redemption.  Our  minds  rest  content 
at  present  with  the  practical  experience  of  the  moral 
and  religious  supremacy  of  Jesus,  a  living  Redeemer 
from  moral  evil.  The  bearing  of  this  moral  leader- 
ship on  the  physical  develoment  of  the  universe  we  do 
not  see  so  clearly  as  Paul  did.  We  do  see  that  re- 
deemed men  find  the  sphere  of  their  activity  in  the 
discovery  and  mastery  of  physical  force,  in  employing 
so-called  physical  forces  for  great  moral  ends.  The 
relation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  religious  leader  of  the  race, 
to  this  physical  development,  past,  present,  and  future, 
is  for  us,  as  it  was  for  Paul,  a  matter  of  speculation. 

5.  The  fundamental  ethical  teaching  of  Paul  was  that 
"love"  is  to  be  supreme  in  human  conduct.  The 
detailed  ways  in  which  the  loving  disposition  should 
express  itself  were  determined  in  Paul's  case  by  his 
belief  that  the  end  of  the  age  was  near  at  hand.  The 
detailed  ethical  teachings  that  appear  in  Romans  are 
not  such  as  to  be  much  influenced  by  this  belief.  For 
us,  too,  love,  unfailing  devotion  to  the  common  good, 
is  the  fundamental  ethical  principle.  We  find  our- 
selves charged  with  the  responsibility  of  discovering 
the  proper  application  of  this  principle  to  the  changing 
conditions  of  developing  life.  The  acceptance  of  this 
responsibility  is  a  character-making  process  for  us  as 
it  was  for  Paul. 


61 


VIII.  THE   INTEGRITY  OF  THE  LETTER 

I.  Are  CHS.  15-16  an  Integral  Part  of  the  Letter? 

This  question  is  occasioned  by  the  fact  that  there 
seem  to  have  been  very  early  copies  of  Romans  in 
which  the  material  now  found  in  these  chapters  was 
wanting.  There  is,  to  be  sure,  no  extant  manuscript 
in  any  language  in  which  this  material  is  lacking  but 
there  is  some  evidence  that  at  least  as  early  as  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  there  were  in  existence 
copies  of  Romans  that  ended  at  14: 23,  either  with  or 
without  the  doxology  which  is  now  found  at  16 :  25-27. 
The  evidence  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows : 

(i)  The  Greek  manuscripts  of  Romans  present 
strange  phenomena  in  their  treatment  of  the  doxology. 
(a)  In  those  that  are  regarded  as  most  authoritative 
by  scholars  who  follow  the  Westcott-Hort  valuation, 
Aleph  BCDE,  the  doxology  appears  where  we  have  it, 
16:25-27,  and  nowhere  else,  (b)  In  many  manu- 
scripts, including  one  of  the  9th  century,  L,  it  appears 
between  14:23  and  15:  i,  and  there  only,  (c)  In  a 
few  manuscripts,  including  one  of  the  5th  century,  A, 
it  appears  in  both  places,  (d)  In  two  closely  related 
Greek-Latin  manuscripts  of  the  9th  century,  FG,  it 
is  omitted  entirely  in  the  Greek  text,  although  G  leaves 
a  space  sufficient  for  it  after  14: 23,  and  F  at  the  end 
of  ch.  16  where  it  appears  in  the  Latin  column. 

62 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


The  presence  of  the  doxology  between  14:23  and 
15:  I  is  indirect  evidence  of  a  short  edition  omitting 
chs.  15-16,  for  it  seems  hard  to  explain  the  presence 
of  a  long  formal  doxology  there,  where  the  logical 
connection  is  so  close,  except  on  the  supposition  that 
there  were  at  one  time  copies  that  ended  with  14: 23. 

The  testimony  of  Origen  regarding  the  Greek  manu- 
scripts of  his  day  gives  us  information  earlier  than  that 
directly  afforded  by  any  extant  Greek  manuscript. 
He  says,  according  to  the  Latin  translation  of  his 
comment  on  Rom.  16:25-27  (244-249  A.  D.),  that 
some  manuscripts  placed  the  doxology  immediately 
after  14:23  while  others,  which  he  himself  followed, 
placed  it  at  the  end  of  ch.  16.  He  speaks  of  both 
of  these  readings  as  being  found  in  manuscripts 
which  Marcion*  (c.  150  A.  D.)  had  not  "corrupted." 

*  Marcion  was  a  wealthy  Christian  shipmaster  from  Pontus  who 
in  Rome,  a  little  before  150  A.D.,  undertook  to  reform  the  whole 
Christian  Church,  and  became  the  leader  of  a  large  heretical  sect 
of  Christians.  He  considered  the  just,  wrathful  God  of  the  Jews 
and  the  Old  Testament  to  have  been  not  the  supreme,  loving  God 
of  the  Christians,  but  an  inferior  being  who  created  the  world  and 
was  ignorant  of  the  true  God.  Marcion  therefore  entirely  dis- 
carded the  Jewish  scriptures  with  their  misleading  exaltation  of 
this  Jews'  God.  He  also  undertook  to  purify  the  Christian  scrip" 
tures  from  what  he  considered  to  be  the  interpolations  introduced 
into  them  by  Christians  who  were  infected  with  a  devotion  to  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  Jews*  God.  He  issued  an  edition  of 
Luke's  Gospel  and  Paul's  epistles  from  which  he  removed  as  far 
as  possible  everything  that  was  inconsistent  with  his  point  of 
view  and  that  therefore  he  felt  to  be  not  genuine  and  truly  Chris- 
tian. Ch.  15  of  Romans  contains  certain  appreciative  references 
to  the  Jewish  scriptures  (vs.  3-4,  8-12,  21)  and  to  the  Jewish 

63 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


Possibly  these  manuscripts  of  Origen's  day  with  the 
doxology  between  14:23  and  15:  i  were  really  indi- 
rectly due  to  Marcion  although  they  seemed  to  Origen 
to  have  an  orthodox  ancestry.  A  copy  that  had  re- 
stored all  of  the  Marcionite  omissions  (e.g.,  a  long 
passage  after  8:11,  Tertullian  ^gaiw^^  Marcion,  5 :  14) 
except  chs.  15-16  might,  because  of  such  restorations, 
not  have  seemed  to  the  orthodox  to  be  Marcionite, 
and  might  have  been  circulated  among  them.  To 
such  a  short  copy  the  Pauline  doxology  which  stood 
in  other  longer  copies  at  16:25-27  might  have  been 
added.  Then  later  to  such  a  short  copy,  ending 
with  the  doxology,  chs.  15-16  minus  16:25-27  might 
naturally  have  been  added.  In  this  way  there  would 
have  been  in  Origen's  day  some  copies  in  which  the 
doxology  stood  at  16:25-27  and  others  in  which  it 
stood  between  14:23  and  15:  i.  Both  copies  would 
have  been  considered  to  have  an  orthodox  ancestry, 
although  the  presence  of  the  doxology  between  14: 23 
and  15:  I  would  really  have  been  indirectly  due  to 
Marcion. 

(2)  In  the  Latin  versions  that  preceded  the  Vulgate 
(384-386  A.  D.) — which  agrees  with  our  present  text 
— Professor  Lake  (The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul, 
pp.  342-3)  finds  three  types  of  reading:  the  doxology 

people  (vs.  26-27)  which  would  have  seemed  to  him  offensive 
and  un-Pauline.  The  first  of  these  offensive  passages,  vs.  3-4, 
is  so  closely  connected  with  vs.  1-2,  that  Marcion's  excision  would 
naturally  have  begun  with  15:  i  and  might  have  included  the 
whole  of  chs.  15-16  since  they  do  not  contain,  in  addition  to  the 
offensive  passages,  much  that  is  not  purely  personal. 

64 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


at  the  end  of  ch.  i6;  between  14:23  and  15:  i;  and 
omitted  entirely. 

Another  evidence  of  the  early  existence  of  the  short 
form  appears  in  the  analysis  of  the  contents  of  the 
letter  that  is  found  in  codex  Amiatinus  (8th  century) 
of  the  Vulgate  and  in  other  places.  This  analysis 
divides  the  letter  into  5 1  paragraphs  and  briefly  sum- 
marizes the  contents  of  each.  Paragraph  50  begins 
with  14:  15  (since  paragraph  49  contains  14:  14  only). 
Its  title  is  "Concerning  the  danger  of  grieving  his 
brother  by  his  food,  and  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is 
not  food  and  drink  but  righteousness,  peace  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Spirit."  This  caption  must  include  at 
least  14:15-20  and  probably  14:15-23.  Paragraph 
51  is  pretty  clearly  the  doxology,  16:25-27:  "Con- 
cerning the  mystery  of  the  Lord  kept  in  silence  before 
his  passion  but  revealed  after  his  passion."  That  is, 
the  doxology  followed  immediately  after  14:23  and 
closed  the  letter,  omitting  chs.  15-16.  The  text  as- 
sumed in  these  paragraph  headings  is  thought  to  be 
older  than  the  Vulgate  (Corssen,  Zeitschrift  fur  neu- 
testamentliche  Wissenschaft^  1909,  pp.  27-28;  Lake,  op. 
cit.  p.  337),  so  that  this  carries  the  short  edition  back 
into  the  pre- Vulgate  period  of  the  Latin  text. 

(3)  When  we  turn  to  the  Church  Fathers  to  see,  if 
possible,  what  copy  of  Romans  they  were  using,  inter- 
esting phenomena  appear. 

(i)  It  is  thought  that  no  clear  quotation  from  ch. 
15-16  is  found  in  Irenaeus  (Gaul,  c.  180  A.  D.),  Ter- 
tuUian  (N.  Africa,  c.  200-220  A.  D.),  Cyprian  (N. 
Africa,  c.  250  A.  D.).     This  perhaps  is  not  strange  for 

65 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


the  chapters  do  not  contain  much  that  is  quotable. 
Still  TertuUian  does  not  quote  from  ch.  15  the  passages 
that  emphasize  the  value  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  and 
the  spiritual  primacy  of  the  Jews  (15:4,  8-12,  21,  27), 
passages  that  would  have  been  pertinent  in  his  opposi- 
tion to  Marcion.  This  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  in 
answering  Marcion  he  purposely  (Ag.  Marcion^  5: 13) 
confined  himself  to  the  mutilated  edition  of  Romans 
that  Marcion  is  known  to  have  used,  and  if  so  it  would 
show  that  at  least  these  verses,  and  perhaps  all  of  ch. 
15,  were  not  in  Marcion's  Romans. 

Furthermore  TertuUian  (Ag.  Marcion^  5:14)  in 
quoting  Rom.  14: 10  says  that  it  is  in  the  concluding 
section  ("in  clausula")  of  the  letter.  This  "conclud- 
ing section"  may  possibly  have  included  chs.  15-16 
but  the  term  seems  more  naturally  applicable  to  a 
short  edition  ending  with  14 :  23.  More  explicit  is  the 
statement  made  by  Origen  a  century  later  than  Mar- 
cion. In  his  Greek  commentary  on  Romans  (244- 
249  A.  D.) ,  of  which  we  have  a  Latin  translation  made 
by  Rufinus,  Origen,  commenting  on  16:25-27,  says 
that  Marcion  not  only  entirely  removed  this  doxology 
from  the  letter  but  "cut  off"  or  "separated  off" 
(dissecuit,  variant  reading  desecuit)  everything  from 
the  place  where  it  is  written  "all  that  is  not  of  faith  is 
sin"  (i.e.,  Rom.  14:23)  to  the  end.  That  is,  Marcion's 
mutilated  copy  of  Romans  ended  at  14:23  without 
any  doxology.  Zahn  (Introduction  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, p.  397)  and  some  other  scholars  before  him  have 
maintained  that  dissecuit  means  "cut  in  pieces"  rather 
than  "cut  off"  and  so  have  argued  that  portions  of 

66 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


chs.  15-16  were  retained  in  Marcion's  Romans,  but 
this  is  not  the  common  opinion.  (Cf .  Sanday-Head- 
1am,  Romans,  p.  xc;  Lake,  op.  cit.  p.  340;  Corssen,  op. 
cit.  pp.  13-14.) 

Was  Romans  ever  a  general  circular  letter?  The 
occasion  of  this  question  is  not  simply  the  fact  just 
brought  out  that  the  last  two  chapters  with  their 
large  amount  of  personal  matter  seem  to  have  been 
lacking  in  some  early  copies,  but  also  the  fact  that 
there  seem  to  have  been  early  copies  in  which  the 
words  "in  Rome"  1:7,  15  were  lacking.  The  words 
are  omitted  in  G,  the  9th  century  manuscript  in  Dres- 
den. Also  in  a  manuscript  found  at  Mt.  Athos  in 
1897,  giving  the  Greek  text  of  Romans  which  Origen 
used  in  making  his  commentary,  the  scribe  admits  in 
a  marginal  note  that  he  has  himself  supplied  the  words 
**in  Rome,"  which  he  found  lacking  both  in  Origen's 
text  and  comment.  There  were  then  in  Origen's  day 
copies  without  these  words.  It  is  tempting  to  suppose 
that  the  copies  that  omitted  these  words  also  omitted 
the  last  two  chapters  (cf.  Lake,  op.  cit.  pp.  346-8),  and 
that  therefore  both  at  the  beginning  and  end  we  have 
evidence  of  a  circular  letter,  like  the  letter  to  the 
Ephesians  in  which  there  is  good  authority  for  omit- 
ting the  words  "in  Ephesus"  (i :  i). 

Lightfoot  held  that  Paul  originally  wrote  to  the 
Romans  the  letter  as  we  have  it  minus  the  doxology 
16:  25-27.  At  a  later  time  he  wished  to  use  it  as  a 
circular  letter  and  so  shortened  it  by  omitting  chs. 
15-16  with  their  purely  personal  references  to  the 
Roman  situation.     To   this  abbreviated    letter,  i.e., 

67 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


after  14:23,  he  added  the  doxology  now  found  at 
16:  25-27  and  omitted  the  words  ''in  Rome"  i :  7,  15. 
A  serious  objection  to  this  theory  is  the  improbability 
that  Paul  would  have  stopped  at  14:  23  instead  of  at 
15: 13  where  the  personal  matter  really  begins. 

Renan  in  his  Life  of  Paul  advanced  an  hypothesis 
somewhat  akin  to  that  of  a  circular  letter.  He  thought 
that  Paul  himself  issued  the  letter  in  four  forms  for 
four  different  sets  of  readers  (since  the  letter  seems 
now  to  have  four  possible  endings:  15:33,  16:20, 
16:24,  16:27):  chs.  i-ii,  15  for  the  Romans;  chs. 
1-14,  16:  1-20  for  the  Ephesians  (see  discussion  of  ch. 
16  p.  71);  chs.  1-14,  16:21-24  for  the  Thessalonians 
(since  there  are  Macedonian  names  in  16:21,  cf.  Acts 
17:6,  20:4);  and  chs.  1-14,  16:25-27  for  some  un- 
known destination.  In  each  of  the  last  three  cases  he 
supposes  some  necessary  modification  in  the  first  half 
of  the  first  chapter.  Renan's  theory  seems  artificial 
in  the  working  out  of  its  details.  Yet  if  the  general 
situation  at  the  time  of  writing  was  at  all  that  out- 
lined by  the  present  writer  on  pp.  36-43,  it  seems  very 
probable  that  several  copies  of  large  portions  of  this 
letter  would  at  once  in  a  wholly  informal  manner  have 
found  their  way  to  various  localities.  Tertius,  the 
keenly  interested  scribe  (16:22),  would  have  made  a 
copy  for  himself,  just  as  a  typist  today  is  often  allowed 
by  his  employer  to  keep  a  copy  of  an  address  that 
keenly  interests  him.  Paul's  well-to-do  host  (16:  23) 
and  other  members  of  the  church  in  Corinth  where 
Paul  was  writing  would  have  wished  to  keep  a  copy 
of  Paul's  discussion  of  the  great  question,  some  phases 

68 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


of  which  had  so  profoundly  stirred  them  all  in  recent 
months.  Representatives  of  some  of  the  churches, 
members  of  the  committee  that  was  to  go  with  Paul 
to  Jerusalem  carrying  the  conciliatory  gift  (Rom.  15: 
25-26, 1  Cor,  16 :  3-4) ,  had  gathered  at  Corinth  expect- 
ing that  to  be  their  starting  point  (Acts  20 :  3-4) .  Or 
if  they  joined  his  party  later  they  heard  others  con- 
stantly talking  about  the  letter  Paul  had  just  written. 
Paul  himself  would  have  a  copy  of  the  letter  with  him. 
They  all  knew  that  Paul's  purpose  in  having  the  gift 
taken  to  Jerusalem  was  the  same  that  moved  him  to 
write  the  letter  to  the  Romans,  namely  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  church.  They  all  sympathized  profoundly 
with  this  purpose,  otherwise  they  would  not  have 
been  on  the  committee,  and  each  one  would  have 
wished  to  secure  a  copy  of  the  unification  letter  for  his 
own  church.  In  this  way  informal  copies  of  the  letter, 
omitting  various  portions  of  the  matter  particularly 
intended  for  Rome,  would  have  come  into  existence. 
Some  of  them  might  have  omitted  the  words  "in 
Rome"  (1:7,  15)  and  there  may  well  have  been  a 
degree  of  instability  regarding  the  text  of  the  last  two 
chapters.  This  would  not  sufficiently  account  for  the 
definite  phenomenon  of  a  fourteen  chapter  copy  closing 
with  the  doxology.  On  the  whole  this  still  seems  best 
accounted  for  by  the  theory  (already  stated)  that 
Marcion  stopped  there  because  the  matter  in  the  con- 
text immediately  following  was  not  congenial  to  him, 
and  ch.  16  added  nothing  of  doctrinal  value  (cf.  San- 
day-Headlam,  op.  cit.  p.  xcvii). 

69 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


It  has  been  assumed  in  all  this  discussion  that  chs. 
15-16  contain  nothing  that  Paul  might  not  have  writ- 
ten. The  objections  once  urged  against  their  Paul- 
inity  by  Baur  have  fallen  away.  Professor  William 
Ryder's  interesting  theory  that  Tertius  (16:22)  was 
their  author  has  not  gained  general  assent. 

2.  Is  CH.  16  AN  Integral  Part  of  the  Letter? 

This  question  has  arisen  apart  from  the  question 
regarding  chs.  15-16  discussed  in  the  last  paragraph. 

The  chief  reasons  for  refusing  to  regard  it  as  an 
integral  part  of  Romans  have  been  the  following: 

(i)  Since  Paul  had  not  yet  visited  Rome  when  he 
wrote  Romans,  he  would  not  be  likely  to  have  so  many 
personal  acquaintances  there  as  appear  in  this  chapter. 

(2)  Especially  Prisca,  Aquila  and  Epsenetus  (3-5) 
are  not  likely  to  have  been  in  Rome  at  this  time. 

(3)  Paul  would  not  have  had  such  acquaintance 
with  the  details  of  the  situation  in  Rome  as  appears  in 
this  chapter  (vs.  10,  11,  14,  15). 

(4)  He  would  not  write  to  a  church  that  he  had  not 
founded  with  such  authority  as  is  thought  to  appear 
in  V.  19,  and  does  not  do  so  in  the  body  of  the  letter. 

(5)  There  is  no  evidence  in  the  body  of  the  letter 
of  such  serious  immorality  as  is  thought  to  be  charged 
against  some  of  the  members  in  vs.  17-18. 

In  view  of  these  difficulties  two  ingenious  but  rather 
arbitrary  theories  have  been  advanced,  both  of  which 
agree  in  supposing  that  we  have  in  our  Romans  two 
genuine  letters  of  Paul  to  the  Roman  Christians.     One 

70 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


of  these  theories*  distinguishes  an  earlier  longer  letter 
consisting  of  what  is  now  found  in  i-ii,  15:8-33, 
16:21-27,  and  a  shorter  letter  consisting  of  12: 1-15:  7, 
16:  1-20  together  with  an  introduction  that  has  dis- 
appeared. The  latter  was  written  after  Paul's  release 
from  the  two  years  of  Roman  imprisonment  men- 
tioned in  Acts,  and  therefore  at  a  time  when  he  would 
have  had  many  friends  in  Rome,  would  have  known 
the  Roman  situation  thoroughly  and  would  have  been 
able  to  speak  with  the  authority  which  personal  ac- 
quaintance would  warrant. 

The  other  theory!  supposes  16:3-15  to  be  a  note 
written  to  the  Christians  in  Rome  by  Paul  from 
Puteoli  where  he  left  the  ship  on  his  journey  as  a 
prisoner  to  Rome  (Acts  28:  13).  The  letter  that  he 
had  written  to  the  Roman  Christians  three  years  ear- 
lier (our  Romans  minus  16:  3-15)  had  made  him  many 
friends.  Moreover  it  is  assumed  that  his  friends  in 
the  East  had  journeyed  to  Rome  before  him  when  they 
heard  that  he  had  appealed  to  the  Emperor  (Acts 
25:9-12)  and  were  now  waiting  for  him  there.  In 
this  note,  mentioning  many  of  them  by  name,  Paul 
announces  his  arrival.  The  "Brothers"  in  Puteoli 
(Acts  28:14)  gave  him  the  information  about  the 
house  churches  and  other  details  of  the  situation  in 
Rome  that  appears  in  this  chapter. 

A  far  more  common  theory  is  that  which  regards 
ch.  16,  or  certain  portions  of  it,  as  a  note,  or  part  of 

*Spitta,    Zur  Geschichte  und   Literatur    des    Urchristentums; 
Cf.  Giflford,  Bihle  Commentary,  p.  29. 
t  Erbes,  m  Zeitschrift  fiir  neutestamentliche  Wissenschaft,  1909. 

71 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


note,  written  to  the  Christians  in  Ephesus.  The  main 
reasons  for  regarding  Ephesus  as  the  destination  are 
these:  Prisca  and  Aquila  (v.  5)  had  been  in  Ephesus 
only  a  short  time  before  Romans  was  written  and 
had  a  church  in  their  house  there  (I  Cor.  16:19); 
Epsenetus  "the  first  fruits  of  Asia"  (v.  5)  would 
naturally  be  found  in  Ephesus,  where  Paul's  work  in 
Asia  began  and  centered  (Acts  19:  i,  10) ;  Paul's  long 
residence  in  Ephesus  would  have  given  him  many 
intimate  friends  there,  would  have  made  him  ac- 
quainted with  all  the  details  of  the  situation,  and  would 
have  warranted  the  tone  of  authority  that  is  supposed 
to  be  found  in  v.  19. 

The  arguments  in  favor  of  Ephesus  sometimes  seem 
to  have  great  force,  but  on  the  whole  the  balance  of 
evidence  seems  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the 
chapter  is  an  integral  part  of  the  letter  to  the  Romans. 

(i)  It  is  hard  to  see  how  the  chapter  would  ever 
have  been  put  with  the  letter  to  Rome  if  it  had  been 
really  Ephesian.  Professor  Deissmann  (Light  from 
the  Ancient  East,  p.  228),  who  holds  strongly  to  the 
Ephesian  theory,  thinks  that  the  two  letters  were 
written  at  the  same  time  by  the  scribe  Tertius  ( 16 :  22) , 
and  because  they  stood  together  in  the  copybook  that 
he  kept  they  came  easily  to  be  regarded  as  one  letter. 
This  assumes  that  the  scribe's  copybook  would  have 
been  used  as  a  source  of  information  in  making  col- 
lections of  the  Pauline  Epistles.  Since  Tertius  was  a 
Christian  and  perhaps  himself  interested  in  making 
such  a  collection  this  may  not  be  impossible  but  it 
seems  hardly  probable.     It  might  be  maintained  with 

72 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


greater  probability  that  a  copy  of  Romans  (see  p.  68) 
was  at  once  sent  to  Ephesus  with  ch.  i6  attached,  ch. 
1 6  being  intended  for  Ephesus  only. 

(2)  If  ch.  16  had  been  written  to  Ephesus  it  seems 
strange  that  there  should  have  been  no  protest  later 
by  the  Ephesian  church  against  the  appropriation  of 
all  their  heroes  by  Rome — and  that  the  Roman  Chris- 
tians should  have  been  willing  to  adopt  them  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  mention  of  their  own  traditional 
heroes  (Erbes) . 

(3)  It  does  not  seem  at  all  improbable  that  there 
should  be  in  the  capital  of  the  empire,  to  which  all 
roads  led,  a  number  of  persons  whom  Paul  in  his  ex- 
tensive travels  during  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  met 
elsewhere.  The  number  of  those  mentioned  in  ch.  16 
whom  he  knew  personally,  and  not  by  reputation 
merely,  is  not  so  great  as  it  may  at  first  seem.  If  we 
consider  the  expression  "beloved"  and  "fellow-pris- 
oners" to  indicate  personal  acquaintance,  and  "kins- 
man" to  mean  not  personal  acquaintance  but  "fellow 
Jew"  (cf.  9:3),  then  there  were  only  eight  individuals 
or  families  whom  Paul  knew  personally:  Prisca  and 
Aquila,  Epsenetus,  Andronicus,  Junias,  Ampliatus, 
Stachys,  Persis,  Rufus  and  his  mother. 

(4)  That  Prisca  and  Aquila  should  have  been  back 
again  in  Rome  within  a  year  or  two,  or  even  within  a 
few  months  after  their  residence  in  Ephesus  (I  Cor. 
16: 19),  is  not  strange.  We  know  from  other  sources 
than  Romans  that  they  lived  at  different  times  in 
Rome,  Corinth  and  Ephesus  (Acts  18:1-3,  I  Cor. 
16:  19,  II  Tim.  4:  19,  i:  15-16)  and  that  they  were 

73 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


forced  out  of  Rome  (Acts  18:2)  under  circumstances 
that  would  make  it  natural  for  them  to  return  as  soon 
as  they  safely  could.  Since  they  were  sufficiently 
well-to-do  to  afford  a  regular  place  of  meeting  for  a 
group  of  Christians  in  their  house  in  Ephesus  (I  Cor. 
16: 19),  they  presumably  did  so  wherever  they  lived 
(Rom.  16:4). 

(5)  Paul's  acquaintance  by  reputation  with  a  con- 
siderable number  of  persons  and  with  the  details  of 
the  situation  in  Rome  (vs.  10,  11,  14,  15),  together 
with  the  emphasis  on  such  acquaintance,  is  exactly 
what  we  should  expect  in  a  letter  to  the  Romans.  It 
would  be  quite  natural  for  Paul,  as  the  consciously 
responsible  head  of  Gentile  evangelization  in  the 
world  (Rom.  15:15-20,  Gal.  2:7-9),  to  keep  thor- 
oughly posted  regarding  all  the  details  of  work  and 
workers  in  every  center  of  Gentile  evangelization, — 
particularly  in  one  that  he  had  never  visited  ("How 
greatly  I  strive  for  as  many  as  have  not  seen  my  face 
in  the  flesh",  Col.  2:1).  Any  efficient  modern  mis- 
sionary bishop  or  superintendent  would  surely  have 
such  an  acquaintance  with  an  important  unvisited 
station  in  his  field.  Paul  would  know  the  names  of 
all  the  leading  Christians,  their  difficulties  and  oppor- 
tunities (cf.  II  Cor.  11:28-29).  This  would  be  par- 
ticularly true  in  the  case  of  the  strategic  church  in  the 
capital  of  the  empire,  which  he  had,  doubtless  by  a 
detailed  study  of  its  situation,  repeatedly  prepared  to 
visit  during  the  last  few  years  (1:13,15:  22) ,  which  he 
was  now  hoping  to  enlist  in  the  hearty  support  of  his 
projected  Spanish  mission,  but  which  was  in  danger 

74 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


of  being  prejudiced  against  him  by  the  enemies  who 
had  recently  so  nearly  wrested  from  him  the  great 
church  in  Corinth,  the  city  where  he  was  writing. 
Surely  under  such  circumstances  he  would  have  thor- 
oughly visualized  the  Roman  situation,  and  would 
utilize  for  emphasis  every  possible  point  of  personal 
contact. 

(6)  A  natural  interpretation  of  v.  19  finds  in  it  no 
inconsistent  assumption  of  authority.     See  notes. 

(7)  The  immorality  reprobated  in  vs.  17-18  has  not 
already  broken  out  in  the  church,  but  is  a  tendency 
that  has  appeared  elsewhere  and  may  appear  in  Rome. 
This  is  in  harmony  with  the  viewpoint  of  the  body  of 
the  letter. 

(8)  Paul's  emphasis  of  his  Jewish  nationality  (vs. 
7,  II,  21)  is  in  accord  with  that  found  in  the  body  of 
the  letter  (9:1-5). 

(9)  The  fact  that  many  of  the  names  in  the  chapter 
appear  in  Roman  inscriptions  as  members  of  Caesar's 
household  (cf.  Phil.  4:22)  is  interesting  and  has  been 
emphasized  by  Lightfoot  and  Sanday-Headlam.  The 
common  occurrence  of  most  of  these  names  elsewhere 
however  somewhat  weakens  this  argument. 


75 


IX.    ANALYSIS  OF  THE  EPISTLE 

I.  God's  Way  of  Declaring  Men  Righteous,  and  So  Fit  for 
THE  New  Age,  Is  Through  Their  Belief  in  Jesus  Christ 
Who  Died  for  Them,  a  Way  Needed  by  All,  Jew  as 
Well  as  Gentile,  and  Open  to  All,  Gentile  as  Well 
AS  Jew,  Without  Subjection  to  the  Mosaic  Law.  Chs. 
1-5. 

1.  Introduction,  i:  1-17. 

(i)  Address,  i:  1-7. 

(2)  Introductory  explanation  of  Paul's  years  of  strange 
delay  in  visiting  Rome  and  announcement  that  he  will 
soon  come,  i:  8-15. 

(3)  Introductory  statement  of  the  general  theme:  The  good 
tidings  of  righteousness  and  salvation  through  faith 
possible  for  all  men  by  the  power  of  God,  i :  16-17. 

2.  The  entire  human  race  is  unrighteous,  i :  18-3:  20. 

(i)  The  Gentile  world  is  unrighteous,  i:  18-32, 
(2)  The  Jewish  world  is  unrighteous,  2 :  1-3 :  20. 

(a)  The  Jew  no  better  than  the  Gentile  whom  he  is  so 
quick  to  condemn,  2:  i-ii. 

(b)  Possession  of  the  Jewish  law  no  guarantee  of  right- 
eousness, 2:  12-16. 

(c)  Jewish  unrighteousness  especially  flagrant,  2:  17-24. 

(d)  Righteousness  a  state  of  heart  and  not  a  matter  of 
nationality,  2:25-29. 

(e)  An  advantage  to  be  a  Jew  rather  than  a  Gentile 

but  the  advantage  not  such  as  to  give  superior 
righteousness  and   immunity   from   God's   wrath, 

3:1-9- 

(f)  The  Jewish  law  itself  proves  the  Jews'  unrighteous- 

ness, 3:  10-20. 

3.  Righteousness  by  faith  available  for  guilty  humanity,  3:21-31. 

76 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


4.  Abraham  and  David  witnesses  for  righteousness  by  faith,  ch.  4. 

(i)  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  Jewish  people,  had  only 
righteousness  by  faith.  Are  the  men  of  the  synagogue 
better  than  Abraham!     4:  1-5. 

(2)  David  also  a  witness  for  righteousness  by  faith,  4:  6-8. 

(3)  The  Jew  has  no  monopoly  of  faith-righteousness,   4:9- 

12. 

(4)  The   law-keeping   Jew  may  no  longer   continue  to  an- 

ticipate having  a  monopoly  of  the  earth,  4:  13-22. 

(5)  The  significance  of  the  record  of  Abraham's  faith,  4: 23- 

25- 

5.  The  New  Race  in  the  New  Age,  ch.  5. 

(i)  The  love  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  the  sure  ground  of 
enthusiasm  for  the  Coming  Age,  5:  i-ii. 

(2)  The  old  race  of  Adam  and  the  new  race  of  Jesus  Christ, 
5:  12-21. 

II.  Faith- Righteous  Men  and  Sin.    Chs.  6-8. 

1.  The  faith-righteous  man  cannot  continue  in  sin  so  as  to  enjoy 

more  of  God's  forgiving  love,  6:  1-14. 

2.  Faith-righteousness   necessarily   involves   enslavement   to  God's 

righteousness,  6:  15-7:6. 

3.  The  law  does  not  create  sin;  it  reveals  sin,  7:  7-12. 

4.  Not  the  law  but  sin  causes  death,  7:  13-25. 

5.  The  secret  of  the  faith-righteous  man's  victory  and  hope,  8: 1-30. 

(i)  The  spiritual  nature  of  the  faith-righteous  man  so  re- 
enforced  by  the  Spirit  of  God  as  to  be  able  to  meet  the 
ethical  demands  of  the  law  and  be  sure  of  life  even  for 
the  body  as  well  as  the  spirit,  8:  1-14, 

(2)  And  therefore  sure,  as  sons  of  God,  to  inherit  with  Christ 
a  glorious  career  in  the  New  Age,  when  all  nature  shall 
be  glorified  by  emancipation  from  decay  and  death, 
8:15-30. 

6.  Hymn  of  Triumph.     Our  glorification  in  the  New  Age  certain, 

assured  to  us  by  the  invincible  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord,  8:31-39. 

77 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


HI.  The  Relation  of  the  Jewish  Nation  to  Jesus'  Mes- 
sianic Salvation.    Chs.  9-11. 

1.  The  present  unbelief  of  the  Jews  no  evidence  that  God  does  not 

plan  ultimately  to  save  the  nation,  9:  1-29. 
(i)  Gentile  Christians  must  not  think  that  Paul  has  given 
up  all  hope  of  seeing  his  fellow  countrymen  accept 
messianic  salvation  and  is  indifferent  to  their  condition, 

9:  1-5. 

(2)  Gentile  Christians  must  not  argue  that  God  has  not 
purposed  to  give  the  Jews  messianic  salvation  on  the 
ground  that,  if  such  a  purpose  were  ascribed  to  him, 
present  Jewish  opposition  would  necessitate  concluding 
that  his  purpose  had  come  to  naught.  God  has  simply 
passed  by  the  present  generation  of  Jews  in  accordance 
with  his  ancient  plan  to  introduce  messianic  salvation 
by  a  process  of  selection,  9:  6-13. 

(3)  Gentile  Christians  may  say  that  to  attribute  such  arbi- 
trary discriminations  to  God  is  to  charge  him  with 
unrighteousness,  that  if  he  had  been  planning  to  give 
messianic  salvation  to  the  Jewish  nation  he  certainly 
would  not  have  been  so  unfair  as  to  pass  over  this  gen- 
eration. Such  discriminations  are  not  unrighteous, 
because  the  scriptures  clearly  attribute  them  to  God 
(15-18),  and  no  man  has  any  right  to  question  the  con- 
duct of  God  (19-26),  9:  14-26. 

(4)  God's  policy  of  selecting  some  and  passing  others  by 
among  the  Jews  appears  not  only  in  the  case  of  the  pa- 
triarchical  families  but  later  in  Isaiah's  time  as  well, 
9:27-29. 

2.  The  present  plight  of  the  Jews  is  due  to  their  obstinate  and  inex- 

cusable refusal  of  faith-righteousness,  9: 30-10:  21. 

(i)  Although  the  Jews  have  always  seemed  to  be  specialists 
in  righteousness,  they  have  been  outstripped  in  the 
sphere  of  their  specialty  by  Gentiles.  This  is  because 
they  failed  to  seek  the  faith-righteousness  that  God 
reveals  through  Christ,  9:  30-10:  5. 
78 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


(2)  Faith-righteousness  is  in  its  nature  so  clear,  simple,  and 
close  at  hand  that  the  Jews  are  without  excuse  for  having 
failed  to  understand  and  adopt  it,  10:6-13. 

(3)  The  Jews  cannot  excuse  themselves  by  saying  that  the 
message  about  faith  failed  to  reach  them,  for  it  has  been 
widely  published,  vs.  14-18. 

(4)  The  Jews  cannot  say  in  excuse  that  they  were  not  ade- 
quately warned  of  their  danger.  Both  Moses  and 
Isaiah  warned  them,  10: 19-21. 

Gentile  Christians  must  never  make  the  proud  assumption  that 
God  has  cast  off  his  ancient  people  and  transferred  his  favor  to 
themselves.     The  Jewish  nation  will  soon  join  the  Gentiles  in 
accepting  messianic  salvation,  1 1 : 1-32. 
(i)  Gentile  Christians  must  not  say  that  God  has  discarded 
His  people.     Paul  himself  and  Jewish  Christians  scat- 
tered here  and  there  over  the  empire  are  proof  to  the 
contrary,  to  say  nothing  of  the  impossibility  that  God's 
ancient  choice  of  the  nation  should  ever  be  revoked, 
11: 1-6. 

(2)  What  has  happened  is  that  a  few  Jews,  in  accordance 
with  God's  policy  of  selection,  have  obtained  messianic 
salvation  but  the  rest  of  the  nation  have  been  hardened 
as  both  Isaiah  and  David  represented,  11:7-10. 

(3)  God's  purpose  in  producing  the  apostacy  of  this  per- 
verse generation  was  to  bring  the  message  of  messianic 
salvation  effectively  to  the  Gentiles,  and  in  such  a  way 
as  later  to  provoke  in  the  Jews  a  real  appreciation  of  it. 
When  the  Jews  in  their  turn  also  accept  it,  the  world  will 
experience  no  less  a  blessing  than  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead  and  the  dawn  of  the  New  Age,  11 :  11-16. 

(4)  Gentile  Christians  must  lay  aside  their  anti-Jewish  race 
pride  and  recognize  the  fact  that  the  Jews,  who  have 
been  the  objects  of  God's  special  care,  are  more  evidently 
eligible  to  messianic  salvation  than  are  Gentiles,  and 
will  soon  be  gathered  with  Gentiles  into  the  experience 
of  God's  messianic  mercies,  11:  17-32. 

Everlasting  Glory  be  to  the  all-wise  God!    1 1 :  33-36. 
79 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


IV.  Directions  for  the  Conduct  of  Those  Who  in  the  Life 
OF  Faith  Wait  for  the  New  Age.     Chs.  12-15. 

1.  General  statement:  Though  the  present  evil  age  has  not  yet 

ended  you  must  no  longer  live  its  life.  Through  the  spiritual 
re-enforcement  that  your  higher  nature  has  experienced  you 
must  even  now  live  the  life  of  the  Coming  Age  of  Spirit,  and 
make  preliminary  demonstration  of  the  will  of  God,  12:  1-2. 

2.  Especially  do  leaders  and  "gifted"  persons,  as  they  wait  for  the 

New  Age,  need  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  sober-minded  hu- 
mility, 12:3-8. 

3.  Love  in  its  various  manifestations  must  characterize  the  life 

of  all  the  brothers,  12:  9-21. 

4.  The  brotherhood  must  obey  the  government  officials,  13:  1-7, 

5.  The  brotherhood  must  not  look  to  the  speedy  coming  of  the  New 

Age  as  a  means  of  evading  the  payment  of  private  debts,  13 :  8-14. 

6.  Brothers  who  conscientiously  abstain  from  all  use  of  meat  and 

wine,  although  unjustified  in  their  asceticism,  are  to  be  re- 
ceived into  the  brotherhood  and  treated  with  consideration, 
— 3.  consideration  that  they  in  turn  must  show  toward  those 
who  do  not  share  their  ascetic  viewpoint,  14:  1-23. 

7.  In  general,  the  strong  must  always  receive  and  help  the  weak, 

as  Christ  did  when  he  bore  our  reproaches  and  especially 
when,  as  a  strong  Jewish  Christ,  he  brought  help  also  to  Gen- 
tiles, 15:  1-13. 

8.  The  fact  that  the  readers  are  Gentile  Christians  justifies  a 

letter  from  one  who  has  been  greatly  blessed  by  God  as 
pioneer  apostle  to  Gentiles  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  who 
now  wishes  to  enlist  their  interest  in  the  conciliatory  Gentile 
gift  which  he  is  bearing  to  the  Jewish  Christians  in  Jerusalem, 
and  also  in  plans  for  a  Spanish  mission  which  he  will  soon 
lay  before  them  in  person,  15:  14-33. 

V.  Personal  Messages.    Ch.  16. 

1.  Phoebe  of  Cenchreae,  bearer  of  the  letter  introduced  and  com- 

mended, 16:  1-2. 

2.  Greetings  to  many  known  personally  or  by  reputation  to  Paul, 

16:3-16. 

80 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


Warning  against  the  type  of  licentious  Christianity  that  is 
appearing  here  and  there  in  the  churches,  i6: 17-20. 

Greetings  from  a  group  of  brothers  closely  associated  with  Paul 
and  interested  in  the  dictation  of  his  letter,  16:  21-23. 


VI.    CONCXUDING   DOXOLOGY,  16:25-27. 


81 


X.  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Introduction. 

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JiJLiCHER,  Adolf.  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament.  New 
York:  Putnam,  1904.     Pp.  685. 

Lake,  Kirsopp.  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  London :  Riv- 
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MoFFATT,  James.  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment.    New  York:  Scribner,  191 1.     Pp.671. 

Peake,  Arthur  S.  A  Critical  Introduction  to  the  New  Testa- 
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Shaw,  R.  D.  The  Pauline  Epistles:  Introductory  and  Expository 
Studies.     New  York:  Scribner,  1903.     Pp.  520. 

Weiss,  Bernhard.  A  Manual  of  Introduction  to  the  New  Testa- 
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Zahn,  Theodor.  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament.  New 
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Life  of  Paul. 
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thistles.     Boston  and  New  York:  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co., 

1904.     Pp.  392. 
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Williams  &  Norgate,  1875-76.     2  vols.     Pp.  713. 
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of  St.  Paul.     Various  editions  since  1851.    Abridged  edition, 

New  York:  Longmans,  1892.     Pp.  850. 
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Biblica. 
Ramsay,  W.  M.     St.  Paul  the  Traveler  and  Roman  Citizen.     New 

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Scribner,  1909.     Pp.  337. 
Ren  an,  Ernest.     St.  Paul.     Various  editions. 

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Weinel,  H,     St.  Paul;  The  Man  and  his  Work.     New  York: 

Putnam,  1906.     Pp.  399. 
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Commentary. 
Beet,  J.  A.      St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans.     New    York: 

Whittaker,  1901.     Pp.  386. 
Denney,  James.     Expositor's  Greek  Testament.     Vol.  2.    Includes 

Acts  and  I  Cor.     New  York:  Dodd,  1900. 
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of  Paul  the  Apostle  to  the  Thessalonians,  Corinthians,  Gala- 

tians,  Romans  and  Philippians.      Putnam,  1899.      Pp.  391. 
Garvie,  a.  E.     New  Century  Bible,  vol.  6.     New  York:  Frowde, 

1901.     Pp.  322. 
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New  York:  Scribner,  1892.     Pp.  238. 
GoDET,   F.     Commentary  on   St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

New  York:  Funk  &  Wagnalls,  1883.     Pp.  531. 
Gore,    Charles.     St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans.    London: 

Murray,  1906.     2  vols.     Pp.  759. 
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and  the  Ephesians.     London:    Macmillan,  1895.     Pp.  192. 
JowETT,  Benjamin.     Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians, 

Galatians  and  Romans.   2  vols.    London:  Murray,  1892.    Pp. 

843- 
LiDDON,  H.  P.     Explanatory  Analysis  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 

Romans.     London:  Longmans,  1893.     Pp.  309. 
Mackenzie,  W.   D.     Westminster  New   Testament.    Vol.   VI I. 

Galatians    and    Romans.     London:     Melrose,    19 12.     Pp. 

383. 
Meyer,   H.   A.   W.      Critical  and  Exegetical  Handbook  to  the 

Epistle  to  the  Romans.     New  York:    Funk  &  Wagnalls,  1884. 

Pp.  588. 
MouLE,  H-  C.  G.     Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Romans;     Cambridge 

Bible  for  Schools  and  Colleges.    Cambridge  Press,  1889.    Pp. 

270. 
Philippi,  F.  a.     Commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

Edinburgh:  Clark,  1878.     2  vols. 
Sanday-Headlam.     a  Critical  and  Exegetical  Commentary  on  the 

Epistle  to  the  Romans;    International  Critical  Commentary. 

New  York:  Scribner,  1895.     Pp.  562. 
Vaughan,  C.  J.     St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans.    London: 

Macmillan,  1885.     Pp.  283. 

Theology. 
Bruce,  A.  B.     St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christianity.     New  York: 
Scribner:  1894,  Pp.  404. 

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Carr6,   H.    B.     Paul's   Doctrine   of  Redemption.     New   York: 

Macmillan,  1914.     Pp.  175. 
Cone,   Orello.      Paul:     The    Man,   the     Missionary   and    the 

Teacher.     New  York:  Macmillan, .1898.     Pp.  475, 
Du  BosE,  W.  P.     The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Paul.     New  York: 

Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  1907.     Pp.  303. 
Gould,  E.  P.     Biblical  Theology  of  the  New  Testament.     New 

York:  Macmillan,  1900.     Pp.  221. 
Pfleiderer,  O.     Paulinism.     Loncion:    Williams  and  Norgate, 

1891.     Vol.  I,  pp.  276. 
Kennedy,  H.  A.  A.     St.  Paul's  Conception  of  the  Last  Things. 

New  York:   Armstrong,  1904.     Pp.  370. 
Morgan,  W.     The  Religion  and  Theology  of  Paul.     Edinburgh: 

T.  T.  Clark,  1917.     Pp.  272. 
Sabatier,  a.     The  Apostle  Paul;  a  sketch  of  the  development  of 

his  doctrine.     7th  ed.  New  York:   Doran,  1908.     Pp.  402. 
SoMERViLLE,   David.     St.  Paul's   Conception  of  Christ,     Edin- 
burgh: T.  &  T.  Clark,  1897.     Pp.  331. 
Stevens,  G.  B.     Theology  of  the  New  Testament.     New  York: 

Scribner,  1899.     Pp.  617. 
Weiss,  B.     Biblical  Theology  of  the  New  Testament.     New  York: 

Scribner,  1888-89.     2  vols.     Pp.  939. 

General. 

Bartlet,  Vernon.  The  Apostolic  Age.  Its  Life,  Doctrine,  Wor- 
ship and  Polity.     New  York:   Scribner,  1899.     Pp.  586. 

Campbell,  J.  M.  Paul  the  Mystic.  A  Study  in  Apostolic  Ex- 
perience.    New  York  and  London :  Putnam,  1908.     Pp.285. 

Case,  S.  J.  The  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity.  The  University 
of  Chicago  Press,  19 14.     Pp.  385. 

Deissmann,  Adolf.  Light  from  the  Ancient  East.  New  York 
and  London:  Hodder  and  Stoughton,  1910.     Pp.  514. 

Gardner,  Percy.  The  Religious  Experience  of  St.  Paul.  New 
York:  Putnam,  1911.     Pp.263. 

Garvie,  a.  E.  Studies  of  Paul  and  his  Gospel.  New  York  and 
London:  Hodder  and  Stoughton,  1911.     Pp.  312. 

Kennedy,  H.  A.  A.  St.  Paul  and  the  Mystery  Religions.  London 
and  New  York:  Hodder  and  Stoughton,  1913.     Pp.  311. 

Knowling,  R.  J.  Witness  of  the  Epistles.  London  and  New 
York:  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  1892.     Pp.  451. 

Knowling,  R.  J.  The  Testimony  of  St.  Paul  to  Christ.  London: 
Hodder  and  Stoughton,  1906.     Pp.  533. 

Mathews,  Shailer.  The  Messianic  Hope  in  the  New  Testament. 
Chicago:  University  Press,  1905.     Pp.  338. 

84 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


McGiFFERT,  A.  C.     A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic 

Age.     2nd  ed.     New  York:  Scribner,  1910.     Pp.  681. 
MoFFATT,  James.     Paul  and   Paulinism.     Boston:   Houghton 

1910.     Pp.  75. 
MoNTEFiORE,  C.  G.    Judaism  and  St.  Paul.     London:  Goschen, 

1914.     Pp.  240. 
MuNTZ,  W.  S.     Rome,  St.  Paul  and  the  Early  Church.     London: 

Murray,  1913.     Pp.  227. 
Ramsay,  W.  M  .     The  Teaching  of  Paul  in  Terms  of  the  Present 

Day.    London  and  New  York:  19 14.     Pp.  457. 
Ramsay,  W.  M.     The  Cities  of  St.  Paul.    New  York:  Armstrong, 

1908.     Pp.  452. 
Ropes,   James.     The   Apostolic   Age   in    the    Light  of  Modern 

Criticism.     New  York:  Scribner,  1906.     Pp.  327. 
Schechter,    Solomon.     Some    Aspects   of   Rabbinic    Theology. 

New  York:  Macmillan,  1909.     Pp.406. 
Schweitzer,  A.     Paul  and  his  Interpreters:   A  Critical  History. 

London:  Black,  1912.     Pp.  253. 
Thackeray,  H.  St.  John.     The  Relation  of  St.  Paul  to  Con- 
temporary Jewish  Thought.     New  York:    Macmillan,  1900. 

Pp.  260. 
Weizsacker,  Carl.     The  Apostolic  Age  of  the  Christian  Churchy 

26.  ed.     New  York:  Putnam,  1899.     2  vols.     Pp.  830. 
Wernle,  Paul.     The  Beginnings  of  Christianity.      New  York: 

Putnam,  19 14.     2  vols.     Pp.  765. 


85 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  ROMANS 

L  God's  Way  of  Declaring  Men  Righteous  and 

So  Fit  for  the  New  Age  Is  Through  Their 

Belief  in  Jesus  Christ  Who  Died  for 

Them,  a  Way  Needed  by  All,  Jew  as 

Well   as  Gentile,  and  Open  to 

All,  Gentile  as  Well  as  Jew, 

Without  Subjection  to  the 

Mosaic   Law,   1-5 

I.  Introduction,  1 : 1-17. 

(i)  Address:  Paul,  Jesus  Christ's  Bondservant  and  High 
Commissioner  for  the  Proclamation  of  the  Gospel 
throughout  the  Gentile  World,  to  the  followers  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  Rome,  i:  1-7. 
"It  is  Paul  who  writes,  Paul,  bondservant  to  Jesus  Christ, 
summoned  by  him  to  be  his  messenger,  separated  from  all  other 
work  to  spread  the  Good  News  that  God  has  sent  to  the  men  of 
our  generation  (i).  God  began  to  prepare  men  to  receive  his 
Good  News  long  ago,  when  the  prophets  set  down  in  writings 
that  are  evermore  sacred  the  message  they  received  from  him 
about  his  Son  (2).  His  Son  we  have  finally  seen,  a  man  of  flesh, 
taking  his  place  in  this  sinful  world  of  flesh  as  a  member  of 
David's  royal  family  (3),  and  yet  also  a  spirit,  holy  in  spite  of  his 
connection  with  flesh,  designated  as  God's  Son  by  passing  into 
fulness  of  power  through  his  resurrection  into  the  world  of  spirit — 
Jesus  Christ  Our  Lord  (4).  It  was  none  other  than  he  himself 
from  whom  I  received  the  gracious  honour  of  appointment  as 
apostolic  herald  of  God's  Good  News  to  all  in  the  empire  whom 
we  Jews  call  Gentiles,  summoning  them  to  yield  him  the  obedient 
service  that  springs  from  faith  in  him  and  that  will  bring  honor 
to  his  name  (5).  You  also  are  included  in  this  number,  sum- 
moned of  God  to  be  Jesus  Christ's  willing  bondservants  (6),  and 
so  I  may  write  to  all  of  you  in  Rom^^  that  are  God's  beloved,  sum- 

8/ 


i:i  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

1.  Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  called  to  he  an 
apostle,  separated  unto  the  gospel  of  God, 

2.  which  he  promised  afore  by  his  prophets  in  the 
holy  scriptures, 

moned  by  him  to  be  his  holy  men  set  sacredly  apart  for  his  use 
in  the  world.  May  God  our  Father  and  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord 
make  you  to  know  and  share  their  loving  kindness  and  perfect 
peace  (5)." 

This  is  an  unusually  full,  formal  and  almost  solemn  address. 
(Cf.  I  Cor.  i:  1-3,  II  Cor.  i :  1-2.)  The  author  is  settling  down 
to  an  unusually  complete  and  significant  statement  of  certain 
phases  of  "his  gospel"  (2:  16).  The  fact  also  that  he  has  never 
visited  the  church  to  which  he  writes  (i :  13)  makes  it  appropriate 
that  he  should  address  them  with  some  formal  courtesy.  In  the 
sentences  that  follow  (i :  8-15)  this  formality  is  at  once  transfused 
with  the  light  of  Paul's  genial  spirit. 

I.  Servant  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  Bondservant,  or  slave,  of  Jesus 
Christ"  seems  to  have  been  a  somewhat  common  designation 
of  all  Christians  (I  Cor.  7:  22,  Eph.  6:  6,)  as  well  as  of  Christian 
leaders  (James  i:  i,  Jude  i,  II  Pet.  i:  i,  Col.  4:  12).  In  the 
Old  Testament  also  the  title  "Jehovah's  bond-servant"  is  applied 
to  any  worshipper  {e.g.,  Ps.  34:  22)  as  well  as  to  a  great  leader 
like  David  (Ps.  89:  3)  or  to  the  prophets  (Amos  3:  7,  Zech.  1:6). 
To  some  Greco- Roman  ears  the  title  would  have  suggested  the 
familiar  phrase  "slave  of  the  Emperor"  and  perhaps  the  case  of 
the  slave  who  found  freedom  by  becoming  the  slave  of  a  god. 
(Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  381,326.) 

It  expresses  Paul's  glad  recognition  of  the  fact  that  he  is  owned 
by  Jesus  Christ,  a  living  Lord  who  sends  him  on  important  busi- 
ness (I  Cor.  i:  17)  and  plans  his  missionary  itinerary  for  him 
(I  Thess.  3:  II). 

The  word  "Christ"  in  the  expression  "Christ  Jesus"  or  "Jesus 
Christ"  is  no  longer  simply  a  title,  "The  Anointed,"  but  a  part 
of  the  proper  name.  Of  course  the  meaning  of  the  word  as  a 
title  was  not  entirely  lost  in  the  use  of  it  as  a  proper  name. 

Apostle.  A  messenger  entrusted  with  important  business;  the 
highest  form  of  service  in  the  church  (I  Cor.  12:  28);  not  limited 
by  Paul  to  the  Twelve  and  himself  (Rom.  16:7,  cf.  II  Cor.  8: 
23,  Phil.  2:25). 

The  Gospel  of  God.  What  Paul  meant  in  detail  by  the 
"gospel  of  God"  will  become  evident  in  the  body  of  the  letter. 
Briefly  stated  in  the  modes  of  Paul's  own  thought  it  meant  the 
announcement  that  those  who  had  "faith"  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  is, 

88 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


3.  concerning  his  Son,  who  was  born  of  the  seed  of 
David  according  to  the  flesh, 


who  gave  themselves  up  as  "bondservants"  to  him  their  living 
"Lord,"  would  at  once  begin  a  life  of  spiritual  companionship 
with  him,  which  would  free  them  from  evil  habits  in  this  present 
age  of  flesh  dominated  by  evil  powers,  and  guarantee  them  a  ver- 
dict of  acquittal  from  all  their  sins  and  a  victorious  entrance  into 
the  glorious  world  of  spirit  when  Jesus  Christ's  judgment  day 
should  end  this  age  of  flesh. 

3.  His  son.  The  central  feature  of  Paul's  "gospel"  is  God's 
Son.  "Son  of  God"  is  one  of  the  titles  by  which  "the  Christ," 
or  in  Hebrew  terminology,  "the  Messiah,"  is  designated  in  the 
synoptic  Gospels  (Matt.  16:  16,  butcf.  Mark  8:29,  Matt.  26:63, 
cf.  Mark  14:61).  The  fact  that  it  appears  m  the  synoptic  Gospels 
as  an  apparently  well  established  messianic  title_  indicates  that  it 
had  been  current  among  the  Jews  in  the  pre-Christian  period.  It 
appears  (in  the  form  of  its  equivalent  "My  Son"),  in  Enoch 
105:2,  IV  Esdras  7:28,  29;  13:32,  37,  52;  14:9.  The  Jewish 
people  had  been  called  God's  Son  (Ex.  4:  22,  Hosea  11 :  i,  cf.  IV 
Esdras  6:  58,  Jubilees  2:  20)  and  so  also  had  the  king  (II  Sam.  7: 
14)  so  that  the  Messiah,  the  great  King,  might  naturally  be  so 
designated.  As  the  title  passed  into  Christian  usage  it  was  of 
course  greatly  enriched  by  the  personality  of  Jesus.  Paul  uses  it, 
not  as  a  stereotyped  messianic  title,  but  to  express  the  unique 
relation  between  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Of  the  Seed  of  David.  Paul  does  not  call  Jesus  the  "Son  of 
David,"  which  had  been  a  Jewish  designation  of  the  Messiah  but 
was  no  longer  suitable  among  Christians  because  Jesus  had  died 
without  the  military  achievements  looked  for  by  those  who 
thought  of  the  Messiah  as  inheriting  the  military  spirit  and  policy 
of  the  great  warrior-king,  David.  The  title  would  also  have  been 
offensive  to  Paul's  Gentile  constituency  because  it  represented  the 
Messiah  to  be  a  Jew,  rather  than  the  non-racial  "Son  of  God." 
(Cf.  II  Cor.  5:  16.) 

It  was,  however,  very  much  to  the  point  for  Paul  to  recognize 
that  Jesus'  Davidic  lineage  fulfilled  prophecies  contained  in  "holy 
Scriptures"  for  it  gave  a  religion  prestige  in  the  Greco- Roman 
world  to  have  an  ancient  literature  and  prophetic  "oracles." 

According  to  the  flesh.     May  mean  simply  "physical  descent" 
(Sanday-Headlam),  but  since  the  holiness  of  his  spirit  is  empha-    ' 
sized  in  the  next  clause,  it  seems  probable  that  Paul  already  im- 
plies the  descent  of  the  Son  of  God  into  the  world  of  "Sin's  flesh," 
an  idea  to  be  emphasized  later  (cf.  8:  3). 

89 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


4.  who  was  declared  to  he  the  Son  of  God  with  power, 
according  to  the  spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead ;  even  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 

5.  through  whom  we  received  grace  and  apostleship, 

4.  With  power.  Describes  the  Son's  glorified  existence  after 
the  resurrection  as  contrasted  with  his  career  in  the  flesh. 

Spirit  of  Holiness.  "Spirit"  was  an  element  of  his  personality 
over  against  "flesh,"  and  was  sinless  in  spite  of  its  connection  with 
"Sin's  flesh"  (cf.  8:3). 

Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord.  The  Greek  word,  "Kyrios,"  translated 
"Lord,"  had  a  variety  of  meanings.  It  was  used  by  gentlemen  in 
addressing  each  other  (Acts  16:30  *'Sirs,  what  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved?").  It  was  used  of  deified  Emperors,  as  a  title  of  oriental 
gods  ("Lord  Serapis"),  and  in  the  Greek  Old  Testament  it  was 
constantly  applied  to  Jehovah.  As  the  title  of  Jehovah  it  was 
the  "name  above  every  name"  granted  to  Jesus  after  his  career 
of  obedient  humiliation  on  the  earth  (Phil.  2:  io-ii,cf.  13,45:23). 
To  those  who  were  familiar  with  the  religious  use  of  the  title, 
among  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  the  way  in  which  the  Christians 
applied  it  to  Jesus  would  clearly  have  indicated  that  they  wor- 
shipped him.  There  were  "lords  many"  in  the  religious  life  of 
the  day,  but  for  the  early  Christians  there  was  but  "one  Lord," 
(I  Cor.  8:  5-6),  "our  Lord"  Jesus  Christ.  In  Paul's  usage  to  call 
Jesus  "Lord"  was  to  declare  one's  self  a  Christian.  When  Paul 
stated  his  "word  of  faith"  in  its  simplest  terms  (Rom.  10:  8-9)  he 
said  that  one  who  confessed  with  his  mouth  "Lord  Jesus,"  that  is, 
applied  to  Jesus  the  title  "Lord,"  and  really  believed  in  his  heart 
that  God  had  raised  him  from  the  dead,  that  is,  had  given  him  the 
"Lord's"  place  of  power  in  the  spirit  world,  should  be  saved.  The 
same  idea  appears  in  I  Cor.  12:3  where  the  expression  "Anathema 
Jesus"  is  a  denial,  and  "Lord  Jesus"  a  confession,  of  Christianity. 

5.  We  received.  "We"  is  almost  the  editorial  we,  but  with 
some  suggestion  of  others  who  had  been  appointed  apostles.  The 
others  had  not,  however,  been  appointed  apostles  to  the  Gentiles 
as  Paul  had  been.  The  R.  V.  marginal  translation  "Gentiles" 
is  better  than  "nations."  There  would  be  no  particular  point  in 
assuring  the  Romans  (v.  6)  that  they  were  among  the  "nations," 
that  they  were  a  part  of  the  world's  population.  Paul  is  here  jus- 
tifying himself  for  writing  to  the  Roman  Christians.  It  was  for 
Gentiles  that  he  felt  a  God-given  responsibility  (cf.  Rom.  15:  16 
in  its  context,  15:  8-21)  and  the  Gentile  Christians  in  Rome  are  in 
his  parish  although  he  has  never  visited  them. 

Grace  and  apostleship.    A  gracious  appointment  to  apostle- 
90 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


unto  obedience  of  faith  among  all  the  nations,  for 
his  name's  sake; 

6.  among  whom  are  ye  also,  called  to  he  Jesus 
Christ's: 

7.  to  all  that  are  in  Rome,  beloved  of  God,  called  to 
he  saints:  Grace  to  you  and  peace  from  God  our 
Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

ship.  The  word  translated  grace  suggests  the  double  idea  of 
beauty  and  gladness.  In  Paul's  usage  it  means  a  beautiful  kind- 
ness that  makes  its  recipient  glad,  and  so  often  an  undeserved  and 
unexpected  kindness.  Jesus'  appointment  of  Paul  to  the  high 
office  of  apostleship  at  a  time  when,  near  Damascus,  Paul  thought 
the  judgment  day  had  come  and  he  was  about  to  be  swept  away 
by  the  wrath  of  the  Nazarenes'  Messiah,  was  an  exhibition  of 
Jesus'  beautiful  kindness  the  remembrance  of  which  never  failed 
to  move  him  profoundly. 

Obedience  of  faith.  Obedience  that  springs  from  or  con- 
sists in  faith.     On  faith,  cf.  1:16. 

7.  In  Rome.  These  words  were  omitted  in  some  texts.  See 
Introduction,  p.  67. 

Saints.     Holy  persons,     A  common  designation  of  all  Chris- 
tians and  not  of  a  special  class  of  Christians.     The  word  indicates 
something  worthy  of  reverence ;  God  is  holy.     Any  thing  or  person 
set  apart  for  God's  service  is  in  this  sense  holy;  the  furniture  of 
the  tabernacle  was  called  holy.     The  word  describes  also  the 
character  demanded  of  those  set  apart  for  God's  service.     Chris- 
tians, therefore,  are  persons  who  are  devoted  to  the  service  of 
God  in  all  the  occupations  of  human  society  and  possess  the  grow- 
ing good  will,  or  love,  requisite  for  such  service. 
(2)  Introductory  explanation  of  his  years  of  strange  delay  in 
visiting  Rome  and  announcement  that  he  will  soon  come. 
The  delay  has  not  been  due  to  any  lack  of  concern  for 
them  or  to  any  failure  to  appreciate  their  importance  in 
the  Christian  world,  1 : 8-15. 

"First  of  all  I  wish  you  to  know  that  out  of  my  daily  fellowship 
with  Jesus  Christ,  grateful  prayer  for  all  of  you  rises  to  my  God. 
I  thank  him  that  your  loyal  devotion  to  Jesus  Christ  is  being 
talked  about  by  all  our  brotherhood  throughout  the  world  (8).  I 
know  that  you  wonder  why  I,  who  profess  such  gratitude  to  God 
for  you,  never  visit  you  but  am  always  turning  back  when  a  few 
more  days  of  travel  would  bring  me  to  you.  Perhaps  there  have 
even  been  persons  (some  such  I  have  lately  known,  to  my  sorrow 

91 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


8.  First,  I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  Christ  for 
you  all,  that  your  faith  is  proclaimed  throughout 
the  whole  world. 

and  theirs!)  who  have  endeavored  to  raise  in  your  minds  doubt 
about  my  sincerity.  I  solemnly  call  God  to  witness — God  whom 
I  serve  with  sincerity  in  my  very  soul  as  I  carry  everywhere  the 
Good  News  about  his  Son  which  he  has  entrusted  to  me — that 
your  name  is  always  on  my  lips  at  prayer  time  (9),  and  that  par- 
ticularly of  late  I  have  been  asking  that  God's  invincible  will, 
which  always  bears  me  onward,  might  now  finally  bring  me  to 
you  (10).  For  I  do  greatly  desire  to  see  you  in  order  that  I  may 
make  you  strong  and  steady  in  your  allegiance  to  the  Lord  by 
sharing  with  you  some  of  the  wonderful  power  that  is  mine  through 
contact  with  his  Spirit  (11).  I  would  better  say,  that  we  may 
both  be  comforted  by  the  loyal  devotion  to  Jesus  Christ  which 
each  will  find  in  the  other  (12).  Let  me  repeat  it.  You  must  not 
fail  to  realize,  Brothers,  that  I  have  often  definitely  planned  to 
visit  you — no  matter  what  others  say  to  the  contrary — and  it  is 
only  because  of  insurmountable  hindrances  produced  by  some  of 
these  slanderers  in  Achaia,  Asia  and  Galatia  that  I  have  hitherto 
failed  to  come.  I  certainly  want  to  feel  that  some  of  the  Christian 
character  in  Rome  is  the  product  of  my  labor,  just  as  is  the  case 
in  other  parts  of  the  great  Gentile  world  (13). 

I  have  a  debt  to  discharge  to  men  of  Greek  culture  as  well  as 
to  the  cruder  peoples  who  will  constitute  my  next  great  field  of 
work  (cf.  15:  24),  to  men  trained  in  the  pursuit  and  teaching  of 
wisdom,  as  well  as  to  the  unthinking  folk,  for  God  has  made  me 
a  trustee  of  the  Gospel  that  he  sends  through  me  to  both.  It  is 
theirs  and  I  owe  it  to  them  (14).  So  I  am  eager,  in  so  far  as  God 
allows  me  to  plan  my  own  career,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  you, 
wise  and  cultured  men  of  Rome  (15)." 

8.  Through  Jesus  Christ.  Paul  felt  it  to  be  through  Jesus 
Christ  that  God  had  corrected  the  colossal  and  guilty  blunder  of 
his  religious  life.  While  he  was  persecuting  the  Nazarenes  he 
had  "been  laid  hold  on  by  Christ  Jesus"  (Phil.  3:  12).  He  found 
that  Jesus  Christ  did  not  let  go  his  "hold"  upon  him  but  remained 
with  him  in  the  living  fellowship  of  faith.  "Christ  liveth  in  me 
and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by  faith  in  the  Son 
of  God"  (Gal.  2 :  20).  So  in  his  religious  life  all  thanksgiving  and 
petition  rose  spontaneously  and  normally  through  Jesus  Christ  to 
God.     Faith,  cf.  i:  16. 

The  whole  world.  An  hyperbole  that  would  be  easily  under- 
stood by  his  readers;  Christians  presumably  were  well  informed 
about  the  spread  of  the  Christian  movement  throughout  the 

92 


THE   EPISTLE   TO  THE   ROMANS 


9.  For  God  is  my  witness,  whom  I  serve  in  my  spirit 
in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  how  unceasingly  I  make 
mention  of  you,  always  in  my  prayers 

10.  making  request,  if  by  any  means  now  at  length  I 
may  be  prospered  by  the  will  of  God  to  come  unto 
you. 

11.  For  I  long  to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  unto  you 
some  spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  estab- 
lished ; 

Empire.  Paul  does  not  wish  the  Roman  Christians  to  consider 
his  apparent  neglect  of  them  evidence  of  inadequate  appreciation. 

9.  God  is  my  witness.  There  is  an  intensity  of  feeHng  evident 
in  all  this  paragraph  which  indicates  that  there  is  a  good  deal  to 
be  read  between  the  lines.  ^  Paul  wrote  this  letter  at  the  close  of 
almost  strenuous  conflict  with  certain  Christian  leaders  who  were 
violently  opposed  to  him.  He  had  driven  them  from  the  field  in 
Corinth,  where  he  was  writing  this  letter,  but  he  knew  that  their 
opposition  had  by  no  means  ceased.  He  knew  that  they  would  do 
eyery^thing  they  could  to  prevent  the  success  of  his  proposed  mis- 
sion in  Spain  (15:  24,  28),  and  would  be  particularly  eager  to 
prevent  his  receiving  the  support  of  the  Roman  Christians  in 
this  enterprise.  They  had  possibly  already  made  some  effort  to 
prejudice  the  Roman  Christians  against  him.  Anyway  he  felt 
that  they  might  make  a  point  against  him  by  representing  that 
although  he  had  several  times  come  as  far  west  as  Corinth  he  had 
never  showed  any  interest  in  the  Christians  at  Rome  until  the 
time  came  when  he  could  use  them  for  the  furtherance  of  one  of 
his  ambitious  projects.  Then  he  seemed  all  at  once  to  be  greatly 
interested  in  them.  Paul  most  solemnly  asserts  that  on  the  con- 
trary he  has  often  planned  ("for  many  years"  15:23)  to  make 
them  a  visit,  and  is  always  praying  for  them  as  a  most  famous 
(v.  8)  part  of  his  great  Gentile  world  parish. 

II.  Some  spirittial  gift.  A  spiritual  "gift"  was  the  power  to 
do  something  unusual,  or  even  miraculous,  as  a  result  of  contact 
with  the  Spirit  of  God.  Such  "gifts"  had  been  much  discussed 
recently  in  Corinth  (I  Cor.  12).  Paul  regarded  some  of  them  as 
extremely  desirable  (I  Cor.  12:31)  and  seems  to  have  felt  him- 
self able  to  secure  them  for  others.  (Cf.  Gal.  3:  s,  H  Cor.  12:  12. 
II  Tim.  1:6.) 

To  the  end  ye  may  be  established.  The  purpose  of  the  gifts  was 
establishment  in  character  (cf.  I  Cor.  12:7, 14:4-5,  Eph.  4:  11 -16). 

93 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


12.  that  is,  that  I  with  you  may  be  comforted  in  you, 
each  of  us  by  the  other's  faith,  both  yours  and  mine. 

13.  And  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren, 
that  oftentimes  I  purposed  to  come  unto  you  (and 
was  hindered  hitherto),  that  I  might  have  some 
fruit  in  you  also,  even  as  in  the  rest  of  the  Gentiles. 

14.  I  am  debtor  both  to  Greeks  and  to  Barbarians, 
both  to  the  wise  and  to  the  foolish. 

.  15.  So,  as  much  as  in  me  is,  I  am  ready  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  you  also  that  are  in  Rome. 

14.  I  am  debtor.  Paul  was  debtor  in  the  sense  that  the  trustee 
of  a  fund  or  the  executor  of  an  estate  owes  that  which  he  holds  in 
trust  to  those  for  whom  it  has  been  designated.  He  considered 
himself  a  "trustee"  of  the  Gospel  (I  Thess.  2:4)  and  a  "steward," 
that  is,  one  who  disburses  to  others  that  which  his  employer  has 
designated  for  them.  (R.V.  marginal  reading  "stewardship" 
Col.  1:25,  and  I  Cor.  4:  i).  The  one  entrusted  with  a  letter 
to  deliver  "owes"  the  letter  to  the  person  to  whom  he  has  been 
sent  with  it. 

Barbarians.  Those  without  Greek  culture.  He  has  in  mind 
his  prospective  work  among  Spaniards  (15:  28)  and  perhaps  even 
Britons  and  Germans.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  worked  largely  in 
cities  of  Greek  culture. 

1 5.  As  much  as  in  me  is.  The  meaning  of  the  Greek  is  obscure. 
It  is  probably  to  be  connected  in  thought  with  v.  13:  "I  purposed 
to  come  unto  you  but  was  hindered,"  and  with  v.  16:  "I  am  not 
ashamed"  to  come  to  Rome.  That  is,  "so  far  as  my  own  feelings 
and  my  own  effort  to  plan  my  itinerary  are  concerned,  I  am  ready 
for  Rome." 

(3)  Introductory  statement  of  the  general  theme:  the  Good 
Tidings  of  Righteousness  and  Salvation  Through  Faith 
Possible  for  All  Men  by  the  Power  of  God,  i:  16-17. 
"Do  not  think  that  shame  has  kept  me  from  your  cultured  city 
for  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel.     I  know  that  it  will  seem  to 
Roman  ears  an  improbable  story  of  ambitious  weakness  told  by 
an  unskilled  tongue.     But  God's  power  is  in  the  message  and  it 
brings  every  man  who  obeys  it  out  from  the  dominion  of  sin  int  > 
the  glad  life  of  purity  and  joy  which  shall  be  ours  in  fulness  when 
Jesus  Christ  introduces  the  New  Age  of  which  we  even  now  have 
our  glorious  foretaste.    The  message  comes  both  to  Jew  and  to 

94 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


1 6.  For  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel:  for  it  is  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that 

Greek,  to  the  Jew  first  in  the  course  of  history  because  God  has 
long  been  using  this  nation  as  the  channel  through  which  he  would 
pour  his  truth  into  the  life  of  the  world,  but  no  less  really  in  these 
latter  days  to  the  world  of  Greek  culture  (v.  1 6) .  I  say  the  gospel 
is  God's  powerful  way  of  saving  all  classes  of  men  from  unright- 
eous living  and  its  consequences,  for  it  describes  a  righteousness  of 
life  like  in  kind  to  his  own  and  by  his  glorious  forgiveness  made 
possible  for  men.  It  is  a  righteousness  which  in  men  begins  with 
loving  allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ  as  living  Lord  and  manifests  its 
growth  throughout  life  in  an  ever  strengthening  allegiance  to  him. 
In  this  faith  it  begins  and  ends.  This  is  nothing  less  than  the 
wonderful  fulfilment  of  God's  ancient  promise  through  the 
prophet  that  the  man  whose  righteousness  springs  from  faith 
shall  live  in  the  New  Age  (17)." 

16.  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel.  Paul's  experience  had 
taught  him  that  from  the  Greco- Roman  standpoint  the  gospel 
might  bring  shame  and  ridicule  to  its  advocate.  To  the  casual 
Greco-Roman  view  Paul  was  a  bald  headed  little  Jew  (Acts  of 
Paul  and  Thecla)  going  about  the  world  trying  in  rather  crude 
lectures  (II  Cor.  10:  10)  to  persuade  people  to  believe  that  one  of 
his  unpopular  fellow  countrymen,  crucified  in  Judea  a  quarter  of  a 
century  before  at  the  instigation  of  the  leaders  of  his  own  nation, 
had  been  raised  from  the  dead,  taken  up  to  heaven  to  sit  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Jews'  god,  and  that  he  would  soon  return  to  judge 
and  rule  the  world!  In  Athens,  only  a  few  hours'  journey  from 
where  he  was  writing,  the  university  professors  and  students  had 
made  sport  of  his  ideas  (Acts  17:18,  32).  These  ideas  seemed  to 
them  to  brand  him  as  an  unmistakable  "fool"  (I  Cor.  i :  23).  In 
the  near  future  he  was  to  hear  a  friendly  Roman  procurator  inter- 
rupt him  and  abruptly  terminate  his  public  address  with  the  char- 
itable suggestion  that  his  close  application  to  the  study  of  ancient 
literature  had  weakened  his  mind!  (Acts  26:  24).^  The  gospeL 
See  note  on  verse  i .  Salvation.  The  word  salvation  had  a  long 
history  behind  it  both  among  Greeks  and  Jews.  Among  the  Jews 
it  had  designated  the  period  when  the  nation  would  be  delivered 
from  its  enemies  (Luke  1:71).  In  Paul's  usage  it  is  "rescue" 
from  the  evil  powers  who  dominate  the  present  age  (Col.  i :  13). 
It  is  rescue  from  the  penalties  of  the  Messiah's  judgment  which 
will  overwhelm  those  evil  powers  and  all  whom  they  control. 
And  it  is  of  course  rescue  from  the  kind  of  conduct  that  leads 
to  those  penalties.  It  is  primarily  a  future  experience:  the  day  of 
salvation  is  nearer  than  it  was  when  we  began  believing  (Rom. 

95 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


believeth ;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek. 
17.  For  therein  is  revealed  a  righteousness  of  God  by 

13:  11).  But  in  a  sense  it  is  also  a  present  experience.  The 
acquittal  of  the  judgment  day  has  been  practically  pronounced 
for  him  who  has  believed  in  Jesus  as  Lord,  and  he  has  already 
begun  to  have  certain  "spiritual"  experiences  that  constitute  a 
foretaste  and  pledge  of  the  life  that  will  follow  in  the  New  Age 
of  spirit  which  the  judgment  day  introduces  (Rom.  8:23-25, 

n  Cor.  5:4-5). 

Believeth.  Our  English  translation  contributes  to  some  con- 
fusion of  thought  by  using  two  different  English  words  for  the 
same  Greek  root.  This  danger  of  confusion  in  Romans  begins 
at  this  point  where  we  have  "believeth"  in  v.  16  and  "faith"  in 
V.  17,  although  the  corresponding  Greek  words  are  simply  two 
different  forms  of  the  same  root  (pisteuo  and  pistis).  Paul  uses 
the  word  "to  believe,"  or  "to  have  faith,"  in  various  ways  some  of 
which  will  appear  in  the  further  study  of  this  letter.  (See  Sanday- 
Headlam,  pp.  31-34).  In  general  the  object  of  the  verb  is  the  per- 
sonality of  God,  or  Jesus  Christ  the  revelation  of  God.  Believing 
in  a  person  is  accepting  him  as  what  he  is  represented  to  be  and 
treating  him  accordingly.  It  always  in  Paul's  usage  involves 
action.  There  must  be  some  reason  for  thinking  that  the  person 
is  what  he  is  represented  to  be.  Therefore  whether  or  not  one 
shall  proceed  to  believe  in  a  person  depends  on  what  he  sees  rea- 
son for  believing  about  him.  What  is  known  about  him  is  gen- 
erally sufficient  simply  to  make  it  probable  that  he  is  what  he  is 
represented  to  be.  Final  conviction  is  attained  only  after  he  has 
been  treated  as  he  probably  ought  to  be  and  some  convincing 
demonstration  in  personal  experience  has  followed.  The  "belief," 
or  "faith,"  of  a  man  in  his  physician  or  in  his  friend  is  developed 
in  this  way.  Believing  in  Jesus  as  Lord  was  regarding  him,  for 
certain  sufficient  reasons,  as  being  what  the  word  "Lord"  was  un- 
derstood by  Paul  to  mean  and  then  treating  him  accordingly,  that 
is,  becoming  his  "bondservant"  (1:1),  gladly  surrendering  to  him 
the  control  of  the  personality  and  cooperating  with  him  for  the 
realization  of  his  ideal  in  life. 

The  Jew  first.  To  Paul  the  Jew  seems  always  to  have  been 
specially  favored  by  God.     (3:1-2;  9:4-5;  11 :  18). 

The  Greek.  Any  person  of  Greek  culture,  no  matter  what  his 
nationality,  provided  he  was  not  a  Jew.  The  Jew  and  the  Greek 
include  the  civilized  world.  The  Barbarians  have  been  already 
included  in  the  scope  of  the  gospel  (v.  14). 

17.  A  righteousness  of  God.  "Righteousness"  was  essential  to 
"salvation."  The  Coming  Age  with  its  salvation  would  be  an 
age  of  righteousness.     It  was  the  beginning  of  such  righteousness 

96 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


1:17 


faith  unto  faith:  as  it  is  written,  But  the  righteous 
shall  live  by  faith. 

now  that  would  secure  the  "pronouncement  of  righteousness" 
("justification"),  the  great  verdict  of  acquittal,  in  the  judgment 
day.  Men  differed  widely  in  their  ideas  as  to  the  nature  of  right- 
eousness. Jesus'  ideas  of  righteousness  had  differed  widely  from 
those  of  some  at  least  of  the  religious  leaders  of  his  people.  He 
had  laid  emphasis  on  the  idea  that  righteousness  consists  in  being 
rightly  related  in  heart  to  other  persons,  in  loving  God  as  a  Father 
and  men  as  brothers.  In  Paul's  usage  also  righteousness  consisted 
in  being  rightly  related  to  persons,  to  God  as  Father,  to  Jesus 
Christ  as  Lord,  to  other  Christians  as  "Brothers."  That  which 
constituted  Tightness  of  relationship  to  other  persons  was  "love." 
All  the  law  was  summed  up  in  one  word:  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself  (Rom.  13:9).  No  alleged  religious  act  had  any 
value  whatever  unless  it  was  an  expression  of  love  (I  Cor,  13 :  1-2). 

The  phrase  "righteousness  of  God"  would  suggest  to  Paul's 
readers  three  meanings  or  implications  all  of  which  probably 
seemed  to  him  appropriate  in  this  context.  This  fulness  of  mean- 
ing made  the  phrase  serviceable  to  him.  It  sometimes  means  a 
righteousness,  or  rightness,  possessed  by  God,  God's  integrity  of 
character  (3 :  5,  25,  26) ;  it  also  means  a  rightness  of  relationship  to 
himself  on  the  part  of  men,  required  and  made  possible  by  God 
(3: 21,  22;  10:  3);  and  since  in  the  Old  Testament  God's  righteous- 
ness shows  itself  in  mercy  to  sinners  (Ps.  143:  1-2;  145:  7-8;  cf. 
I  John  1 :  9)  the  phrase  implies  a  declaration  by  God  of  rightness 
in  the  case  of  the  "ungodly"  (4:  5),  that  is,  "forgiveness."  In  the 
Gospel  God  reveals  a  way  by  which  men  through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  may  possess  a  righteousness  that  is  like  in  kind  to  his  own, 
namely,  love,  and  so  experience  the  forgiving  acquittal  of  the 
judgment  day  beforehand. 

By  faith  unto  faith.  Better,  from  faith.  This  righteousness 
is  a  result  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  itself  reacts  to  produce 
stronger  faith  in  him.  When  he  in  faith  is  accepted  and  treated 
as  "Lord"  the  righteousness  that  consists  in  love  begins.  Faith 
at  once  manifests  its  activity  in  love  (Gal.  5:  6).  This  life  of  love 
toward  all,  which  begins  in  faith,  produces  an  increasing  devotion 
to  Jesus  Christ;  it  results  in  more  faith.  It  is  a  righteousness 
characterized  in  all  its  extent  by  everlasting  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Through  this  vital  faith-fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ,  presented  in 
the  gospel,  there  is  reproduced  in  a  man  the  disposition  that  con- 
stitutes God  himself  righteous:  we  "become  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him"  (II  Cor,  5:  51). 

As  it  is  written.     Paul  will  show  later  that  the  righteousness 

97 


l8  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

2.  The  entire  human  race  is  unrighteous.  God's  wrath 
rests  on  all  the  race  of  men,  a  race  inexcusably 
unrighteous  in  its  Gentile  element,  and  its  Jewish 
element  as  well,  for  the  Mosaic  law  has  not  availed 
to  make  the  Jews  righteous,  i:  i8-j:  20. 

which  springs  from  faith  is  the  only  kind  of  righteousness  en- 
dorsed by  the  law  and  the  prophets.  How  clearly,  if  at  all,  he 
recognized  the  historical  situation  that  lay  back  of  this  quotation 
from  Hab.  2 :  4  is  not  evident.  The  statement,  taken  at  its  face 
value,  says  that  the  man  who  has  the  righteousness  that  springs 
from  faith  shall  live,  or  that  the  righteous  man  shall  live  because 
of  his  faith.  "Live"  means  to  Paul  live  in  the  coming  Messianic 
Age  of  spirit. 

In  the  adoption  of  Paul's  unification  platform  (see  Introduction 
p.  36)  it  must  be  conceded  by  all  parties  that  faith  is  the  only 
resource  any  one  has  for  securing  righteousness.  This  will  be 
stated  in  3:  21-31  and  for  that  statement  the  way  is  prepared  in 
i:  18-3:20,  by  showing  the  hopelessness  of  men  without  faith. 
Especially  in  the  case  of  the  Jew  it  is  necessary  to  show  that  the 
Mosaic  law  on  which  he  bases  his  hope  of  righteousness  has  utterly 
failed  to  secure  the  realization  of  its  ideal. 

(l)   The  Gentile  world  is  unrighteous.     God's  wrath  at  all 
unrighteousness  is  terribly  evident  in  the  unspeakable 
foulness  to  which  he  has  delivered  up  the  Gentile  world 
that  used  to  know  him,  and  then  with  inexcusable  wicked- 
ness turned  away  from  him,  i:  18-32. 
"It  is  well  for  us  men  that  a  righteousness  acceptable  to  God 
has  been  revealed  to  us  by  him  in  his  gospel,  for  out  of  his  heaven 
another  revelation  has  been  made.     There  has  been  revealed  an 
awful  indignation  against  all  irreverence  and  unrighteousness  of 
mankind  who  with  persistent  violence  have  kept  holding  down, 
by  their  unrighteous  living,  the  truth  that  struggles  to  express  it- 
self in  righteous  action  (18).     They  have  knowingly  done  violence 
to  God's  truth,  for  knowledge  about  God  had  been  given  to  them 
by  God  himself  (19).     Although  God's  endless  power  and  divine 
nature  do  not  appear  directly  to  the  eye,  they  might  have  been 
unmistakably  inferred  ever  since  the  creation  from  what  was  then 
made.^   So  they  are  without  excuse  (20),  for  they  knew  him  and 
yet  iailed  to  yield  him  appreciative  worship  or  give  him  thanks. 
Instead  they  began  pretentious  and  ineffective  speculations,  and 
heavy  darkness  fell  upon  their  wickedly  stupid  hearts  (21).     At 
the  very  time  when  they  were  boastfully  proclaiming  their  wisdom 

98 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  I :  l8 

they  were  behaving  like  fools  (22).  Like  fools  they  bartered 
away  their  glorious  vision  of  the  deathless  God  for  the  lifeless 
statue  of  a  death-stricken  man,  yea  even  for  images  of  birds  and 
beasts  and  things  that  crawl  (23) ! 

"For  this  cause  it  was  that  God's  indignation  let  them  go  in 
gratifying  the  evil  desires  of  their  hearts  to  the  vile  lengths  they 
reached  in  befouling  the  bodies  God  had  given  them  (24) — these 
men  who  bartered  away  the  truth  of  God  for  a  lie!  These  men 
who  reverenced  and  served  a  thing  that  was  made  when  they 
might  have  worshipped  the  One  who  made  it,  the  One  who  is  to 
be  called  blessed  in  the  endless  ages,  Amen  and  Amen  (25)!  For 
this  cause  it  was,  I  say,  that  God  gave  them  up  to  the  filthy  lusts 
they  bred  and  left  them  to  suffer  in  diseased  bodies  the  well- 
deserved  consequences  of  their  vicious  living  (26-27). 

"Since  they  did  not  approve  of  keeping  God  clearly  before  their 
minds  God  left  them  to  be  of  a  mind  that  he  could  not  approve, 
to  do  beastly  things  unfit  for  humans  to  do  (28).  They  became 
full  of  all  forms  of  wickedness,  badness,  greed,  meanness;  full  of 
envy,  murder,  wrangling,  deceit,  malignity;  those  who  whisper 
slander  (29),  those  who  utter  it  openly,  hateful  to  God,  inso- 
lent, overbearing,  pretentious,  braggarts,  ingenious  inventors  of 
evil  schemes  and  practices,  obstinately  disobedient  to  parents 
(30),  morally  stupid,  faithless,  without  love  even  for  their  families, 
pitiless  persons  (31).  They  are  persons  who,  though  they  know 
perfectly  well  that  by  God's  ordinance  those  who  practice  such 
vices  are  worthy  of  death,  not  only  practice  them  obstinately 
themselves  but  take  a  devilish  pleasure  in  seeing  others  do  so 
(32)." 

Paul's  purpose  is  to  show  that  all  the  race  is  unrighteous  but  he 
presents  in  vss.  18-32  a  description  of  moral  decadence  which  all 
Jews  and  the  numerous  Gentiles  familiar  with  synagogue  teaching 
would  at  once  recognize  as  the  Jewish  view  of  the  Gentile  world. 
It  appears  in  the  Talmud  (Weber,  Die  Lehren  des  Talmud, 
especially  pp.  64-78),  and  in  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  (chs.  12-14) 
which  some  of  the  expressions  here  strongly  suggest.  Paul  bears 
down  more  heavily  upon  the  Gentiles  than  does  the  author  of  the 
Wisdom  of  Solomon  who  is  inclined  to  consider  the  possibility  that 
they  "peradventure  do  but  go  astray  while  they  are  seeking  God 
and  desiring  to  find  him"  (13:6),  although  he  nevertheless  thinks 
that  "they  are  not  to  be  excused"  (13:  8).  He  also  sees  a  "correc- 
tive admonition"  (12 :  20, 25,  26)  in  God's  dealing  with  them  which 
Paul  does  not  recognize  here.  In  Acts  14:  15-17  and  17:  27-30 
there  is  attributed  to  Paul  a  view  more  like  that  of  the  Wisdom 
of  Solomon.  Perhaps  here  in  the  very  beginning  of  Romans 
Paul  is  concerned  to  make  it  clear  that  his  gospel  is  not  tolerant 
of  Gentile  sins,  as  his  Jewish  critics  and  antinomian  Gentile 

99 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

i8.  For  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven 
against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men, 
who    hold    down   the   truth    in    unrighteousness; 

19.  because  that  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  mani- 
fest in  them;  for  God  manifested  it  unto  them. 

20.  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  since  the  creation 
of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  perceived 
through  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  ever- 
lasting power  and  divinity;  that  they  may  be 
without  excuse : 

21.  because  that,  knowing  God,  they  glorified  him  not 
as  God,  neither  gave  thanks;  but  became  vain  in 
their  reasonings,  and  their  senseless  heart  was 
darkened. 

22.  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools, 

23.  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God 

Christians  will  represent  it  to  be  (cf.  3:  8,  6:  i,  15).  He  is  not  try- 
ing to  make  himself  a  great  apostolic  leader  among  the  Gentiles 
by  being  complaisant  toward  their  sins  (I  Thess.  2 :  5-6)!  Gentile 
Christians  too,  who  before  they  became  Christians  had  been 
attracted  to  the  synagogue  because  disgusted  with  the  corruption 
of  pagan  civilization,  would  like  to  be  assured  of  this. 

18.  The  wrath  of  God.  A  common  Old  Testament  expression 
and  a  current  technical  term  for  God's  judgment  (2:5).  Paul 
holds  that  God  loves  these  people  from  the  slums  of  the  world 
whom  he  is  about  to  describe  (5:8,  I  Cor.  6:9-11).  Therefore 
he  does  not  consider  wrath  and  love  to  be  inconsistent.  Wrath 
is  the  strong  set  of  love  against  that  which  would  ruin  the  object 
loved.     The  greater  the  love,  the  greater  is  the  wrath. 

19.  In  them.  Among  them  or  to  them,  that  is,  through  the 
world  about  them  (v.  20),  not  in  their  very  natures.  God  mani- 
fested it  unto  them.  God  himself  came  face  to  face  with  them  in 
the  natural  world. 

2 1 .  Neither  gave  thanks.  Because  they  clearly  faced  him  their 
obstinate  ingratitude  was  inexcusable.  Ingratitude  is  the  begin- 
ning of  decadence  into  heathenism. 

22.  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise.    Paul  probably  has  in  mind 

100 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


for  the  likeness  of  an  image  of  corruptible  man,  and 
of  birds,  and  fourfooted  beasts,  and  creeping  things. 

24.  Wherefore  God  gave  them  up  in  the  lusts  of  their 
hearts  unto  uncleanness,  that  their  bodies  should 
be  dishonoured  among  themselves: 

25.  for  that  they  exchanged  the  truth  of  God  for  a  lie, 
and  worshipped  and  served  the  creature  rather 
than  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  forever.     Amen. 

26.  For  this  cause  God  gave  them  up  unto  vile  pas- 
sions: for  their  women  changed  the  natural  use 
into  that  which  is  against  nature : 

2"].  and  likewise  also  the  men,  leaving  the  natural  use 
of  the  woman,  burned  in  their  lust  one  toward 
another,  men  with  men  working  unseemliness,  and 
receiving  in  themselves  that  recompense  of  their 
error  which  was  due. 

28.  And  even  as  they  refused  to  have  God  in  their 
knowledge,  God  gave  them  up  unto  a  reprobate 
mind,  to  do  those  things  which  are  not  fitting; 

29.  being  filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  wickedness, 

a  good  deal  of  the  lecturing  by  professors  of  rhetoric  with  whom 
he  constantly  came  into  competition  (cf.  I  Cor.  i:  20-22,  2:  1-5). 

24.  God  gave  them  up.  Not  permanently  of  course.  Paul  is 
setting  up  a  dark  background  against  which  to  present  the  gospel 
"which  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation"  for  all  men. 

27.  Vices  unmentionable  in  our  day  were  so  common  as  to  be 
openly  recognized  and  discussed  even  by  literary  gentlemen  of 
high  character. 

28-31.  Such  lists  of  vices  appear  elsewhere  in  Paul  (e.g.,  Gal. 
5:19-21,  Col.  3:5-9),  in  other  Jewish  literature  {Wisdom  of 
Solomon  14:23-29,  Philo  frequently)  and  the  ethical  discussions 
of  the  Stoics.  Any  practical  ethical  or  religious  preacher  and 
writer  must  specify  vices  in  detail  if  he  is  to  awaken  the  conscience. 
Paul  may  have  definitely  purposed  to  use  words  that  were  some- 
what stereotyped  in  synagogue  usage  in  order  to  indicate  that  he 
did  not  view  Gentile  wickedness  with  any  less  than  the  utmost 

lOI 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


covetousness,  maliciousness;  full  of  envy,  murder, 
strife,  deceit,  malignity;  whisperers, 

30.  backbiters,  hateful  to  God,  insolent,  haughty,  boast- 
ful, inventors  of  evil  things,  disobedient  to  parents, 

31.  without  understanding,  covenant-breakers,  with- 
out natural  affection,  unmerciful: 

32.  who,  knowing  the  ordinance  of  God,  that  they 
which  practise  such  things  are  worthy  of  death, 
not  only  do  the  same  but  also  consent  with  them 
that  practise  them. 

2.  Wherefore  thou  art  without  excuse,  O  man,  who- 

Jewlsh  abhorrence.  He  was  not  of  course  dependent  on  any  liter- 
ary description  of  Gentile  wickedness  for  his  knowledge  of  Gentile 
character.  He  had  been  brought  up  in  a  great  Gentile  city  and 
was  writing  in  one  notorious  for  its  immorality.  His  converts 
from  among  the  slums  had  poured  their  confessions  and  tempta- 
tions into  his  ears  (i  Cor.  6:  9-1 1). 

32.  But  also  consent  with  them  that  practice  them.  Delight 
in  their  evil  deeds.  This  is  a  climax  of  evil  disposition.  A  man 
often  likes  to  do  himself  what  he  feels  called  upon  to  rebuke  in 
others,  especially  in  younger  persons.  In  an  advanced  stage  of 
wickedness  a  man  openly  gloats  over  the  wrong  deeds  of  others. 

(2)  The  Jewish  world  is  unrighteous.  The  Jewish  world, 
so  quick  to  condemn  the  unrighteousness  of  the  Gentile 
world,  is  nevertheless,  according  to  the  verdict  of  its  own 
boasted  law,  as  inexcusably  unrighteous  and  as  subject 
to  the  wrath  of  God  as  are  the  Gentiles.  So  the  whole 
human  race  stands  under  the  judgment  of  God,  2:  i-j:  20. 

(a)  The  Jew  is  no  better  than  the  Gentile  whom  he  is  so  quick 
to  condemn.  The  Jew  who  is  so  hasty  in  his  condemnation  of 
the  Gentile  is  also  himself  inexcusably  unrighteous  for  he  has 
sinned  grossly  against  the  special  goodness  of  God  to  him,  and 
he  will  find  that  God  makes  noidistinction  between  Jew  and  Greek 
in  the  Judgment  Day,  2:  i-ii. 

"Since  those  who  know  the  right  and  do  the  wrong  are  clearly 
seen  to  be  the  inexcusable  objects  of  God's  wrath,  you  too  are 
inexcusable,  O  Fellow  Man,  you  whose  "Amen"  has  been  so 
prompt  and  hearty  in  response  to  the  charges  I  have  been  bringing 

102 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  2: 1 

soever  thou  art  that  judgest:  for  wherein  thou 
judgest  another,  thou  condemnest  thyself;  for 
thou  that  judgest  dost  practise  the  same  things. 


against  the  Gentile  world!  While  you  have  been  condemning  the 
other  you  have  been  pronouncing  sentence  upon  yourself  for  you, 
the  eager  judge,  yourself  practice  what  you  condemned  (3). 
Evidently  we  both  know  that  God's  judgment  rightly  rests  upon 
those  who  do  the  things  that  I  have  mentioned  (2).  Can  you  be 
thinking  then  that  you,  who  show  your  realization  of  the  sinful- 
ness of  these  actions  by  condemning  them  in  another,  and  yet  do 
them  yourself,  will  by  any  possibility  escape  God's  wrath  (3)! 
Or  can  it  be  that  you  have  gone  beyond  the  Gentile  who  disre- 
garded the  manifestation  of  God's  glory  made  to  him  in  the 
natural  world,  and  have  thought  nothing  of  a  great  wealth  of 
extra  kindness,  forbearance  and  long-suffering  shown  you  by 
God!  Have  you  utterly  failed  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  God 
was  striving  in  this  way  to  lead  you  to  repentance,  instead  of 
abandoning  you  as  he  did  the  Gentiles!  (4).  It  seems  even  so. 
With  your  harsh  and  impenitent  heart  you  have  gone  on  greedily 
hoarding  up  for  yourself  not  a  'wealth  of  kindness'  but  wrath  to 
be  experienced  in  the  day  when  God's  wrath  and  impartial  judg- 
ment shall  be  made  known  (5),  in  the  day  when,  as  we  have  often 
read  in  Holy  Scripture,  'He  will  render  to  every  man  according  to 
his  deeds'  (6).  Those  who  show  by  patient  continuance  in  good 
deeds  that  they  are  aiming  at  radiant  existence  in  God's  heaven, 
high  distinction  and  deathless  permanence  of  life,  will  receive  in 
the  enduring  life  of  the  age  to  come  the  high  ends  at  which  they 
aim  (7).  But  for  those  who  are  crafty  partisans  of  evil,  who  re- 
sent the  truth  but  yield  willingly  enough  to  untruth,  there  will  be 
deep  seated  wrath  and  hot  anger  (8),  trouble  and  distress  for 
every  soul  of  man  that  keeps  at  evil,  yea  first  of  all  for  the  Jew, 
who  has  been  in  the  foreground  of  God's  providence,  and  also  for 
the  Greek  (9).  But  a  radiant  heavenly  existence,  high  distinction 
and  tranquility  of  spirit  shall  be  assured  to  every  one  who  does 
what  is  good,  to  the  Jew  first  and  equally  to  the  Greek  (10).  For 
an  individual's  racial  or  social  standing  counts  for  nothing  with 
God.     He  is  not  a  Jews'  God  (11)." 

I.  Whosoever  thou  art  that  judgest.  That  this  describes  the 
Jew  begins  to  be  evident  to  the  modern  reader  in  y.  4  and  is  made 
perfectly  clear  in  v.  17.  If  the  phraseology  used  in  i :  18-32  was 
at  once  recognized  by  the  original  readers  as  a  rather  conventional 
Jewish  description  of  the  Gentile  world,  then  it  was  at  once  evident 
to  them  that  Paul  now  turns  upon  the  Jew.    The  Jew  was  famous 

103 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


2.  And  we  know  that  the  judgement  of  God  is  accord- 
ing to  truth  against  them  that  practise  such  things. 

3.  And  reckonest  thou  this,  O  man,  who  judgest 
them  that  practise  such  things,  and  doest  the  same, 
that  thou  shalt  escape  the  judgement  of  God? 

4.  Or  despisest  thou  the  riches  of  his  goodness  and 
forbearance  and  longsufTering,  not  knowing  that 
the  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance? 

5.  but  after  thy  hardness  and  impenitent  heart 
treasurest  up  for  thyself  wrath  in  the  day  of  wrath 
and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgement  of  God; 

6.  who  will  render  toevery  man  according  to  his  works : 

7.  to  them  that  by  patience  in  well-doing  seek  for 
glory  and  honour  and  incorruption,  eternal  life: 

as  a  judge  of  the  Gentiles.  His  common  designation  of  them  was 
"sinners" — "we  being  Jews  by  nature  and  not  'sinners  of  the 
Gentiles'  "  (Gal.  2 :  15).  That  the  Jew  is  here  addressed  does  not 
prove  that  the  readers  were  Jews.  Such  address  is  a  rhetorical 
device.  Dost  practice  the  same  things.  It  seems  hardly  prob- 
able that  Paul  meant  to  accuse  the  Jewish  world  in  general  of  all 
the  foul  vices  so  frequently  found  in  the  Gentile  world,  nor  of  the 
idolatry  emphasized  in  i :  23.  He  means  that  somewhere  in  the 
preceding  paragraph  the  average  Jew,  as  well  as  the  average  Gen- 
tile, will  find  himself  listed. 

2.  According  to  truth.  That  is,  impartial,  according  to  the 
facts,  whether  Jewish  or  Gentile  facts. 

3.  Reckonest  thou  .  .  .  that  thou  shalt  escape  the  judg- 
ment of  God.  Some  at  least  of  the  Jews  seem  to  have  felt  that 
Abrahamic  descent  guaranteed  them  special  consideration  and 
immunity  from  God's  wrath.  John  the  Baptist  seems  to  have 
known  such  (Matt.  3:9).  According  to  the  Talmud  there  were 
those  who  felt  that  'Israel's  acceptance  of  God's  law  on  Mt. 
Sinai  gave  to  the  nation  an  indestructible  holiness.'  (Weber,  Die 
Lehren  des  Talmud,  p.  50.) 

6.  To  every  man  according  to  his  works.  Since  Paul  is  devel- 
oping the  idea  that  all  men  are  guilty  because  of  their  evil  works 
these  words  would  seem  to  indicate  that  he  expected  all  men  would 
be  consigned  to  God's  wrath  in  the  j  udgment  day.     But  this  is  not 

104 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  2:ii 

8.  but  unto  them  that  are  factious,  and  obey  not  the 
truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness,  shall  he  wrath 
and  indignation, 

9.  tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every  soul  of  man 
that  worketh  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the 
Greek ; 

10.  but  glory  and  honour  and  peace  to  every  man  that 
worketh  good,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the 
Greek : 

11.  for  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God. 

the  case  for  he  will  soon  speak  of  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  which  will  be  the  possession  of  a  great  multitude  (8:29), 
and  he  will  say  that  men  were  saved  by  faith  in  God  before  Jesus 
came  (ch.  4).  In  v.  7  here  also  there  seems  to  be  expectation 
that  the  deeds  of  some  will  be  such  as  to  secure  for  them  salvation. 
Does  he  then  count  "faith"  as  among  the  "deeds"  of  men?  The 
present  paragraph  is  obscure  at  this  point.  Paul  is  simply  con- 
cerned here  to  say  that  Jew  and  Gentile  are  treated  alike;  deeds 
and  not  nationality  count.  There  is  not  evidence  here  however  of 
a  fundamental  obscurity  in  Paul's  thought  or  of  an  inconsistency 
unrecognized  by  him,  as  is  sometimes  said  to  be  the  case.  His 
position  is  that  faith,  and  faith  alone,  leads  to  such  deeds,  that  is, 
to  such  "patience  in  well  doing,"  as  will  receive  God's  commenda- 
tion in  the  judgment  day.  In  Paul  faith  is  never  represented  as  a 
substitute  for  righteous  deeds,  but  as  the  only  efficient  cause  of 
them  (8:3-4).  This  is  incidentally  a  warning  to  Gentile  Chris- 
tians who  may  be  inclined  to  feel  that  faith  and  baptism  have 
made  it  impossible  for  any  evil  deeds  they  may  now  commit  to 
affect  their  chance  of  final  salvation. 

7.  Eternal  life.  The  state  of  blessedness,  begun  in  a  certain 
sense  now,  but  to  be  realized  fully  in  the  eternal  Spirit  Age  to 
come.  This  verse  throws  some  light  on  Paul's  conception  of  eter- 
nal life.  Three  of  its  characteristics  appear.  It  involves  "glory," 
which  in  Paul's  usage  is  excellence  of  character  manifesting  itself 
in  an  appropriate  form  of  being,  in  a  radiant  spirit  body  acclimated 
in  God's  heaven  (cf.  I  Cor.  15:41,  43,  44,  49,  50).  It  involves 
"honor,"  or  the  glad  appreciative  recognition  of  each  other's 
"glory,"  and  it  is  a  state  in  which  good  things  last.  The  spirit 
body  does  not  decay  and  disappear  as  does  the  flesh  body.  In 
V.  10  "peace"  is  added  to  the  description  of  eternal  life.     Peace  is 

105 


2: 12  THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

12.  For  as  many  as  have  sinned  without  law  shall  also 
perish  without  law:  and  as  many  as  have  sinned 
under  law  shall  be  judged  by  law; 

the  tranquility  of  soul  essential  to  high  achievement.     None  of 
the  energies  of  eternity  are  to  be  wasted  in  worry. 

(b)  Possession  of  the  Jewish  law  is  no  guarantee  of  righteous- 
ness. The  Jews'  possession  of  the  Mosaic  law  is  no  such  evidence 
of  God's  favor  as  guarantees  their  escape  from  judgment,  for  the 
Gentiles  (who  certainly  do  not  escape  judgment)  have  in  their 
consciences  essentially  the  same  law,  2:  12-16. 

"The  fact  that  the  Jew  will  be  holding  the  law  of  Moses  in  his 
hand  when  he  stands  before  God  in  the  judgment  day  will  not 
lead  God  to  respect  his  person.  It  is  simply  sin  and  righteousness 
about  which  inquiry  will  then  be  made.  Those  who  have  sinned 
without  possessing  a  written  law  will  go  to  ruin  without  such  a 
law  to  condemn  them,  for  I  have  shown  that  they  had  a  knowledge 
of  truth  sufficient  to  make  them  inexcusably  guilty.  As  many  as 
have  sinned  in  connection  with  the  Mosaic  law  will  be  judged  by 
its  statements  (12).  It  is  a  fatal  error  to  suppose,  as  many  do, 
that  simply  having  been  entrusted  by  God  with  his  precious  treas- 
ure, the  law,  and  listening  to  it  in  the  synagogue  guarantees  to  one 
the  standing  of  a  righteous  man  in  the  judgment  day.  Nothing 
but  doing  the  deeds  demanded  by  law  can  give  a  man  this  stand- 
ing (13).  Furthermore,  my  countrymen  are  mistaken  in  suppos- 
ing that  they  alone  have  been  honored  by  God  with  the  gift  of 
his  law.  He  has  given  the  same  to  the  Gentiles  in  another  form, 
for  we  find  them  behaving  as  if  they  had  the  Mosaic  law  (14). 
The  way  in  which  they  accuse  and  excuse  in  their  social  and  busi- 
ness relations  shows  that  the  great  ethical  principles  of  the  Mo- 
saic law  are  written  in  their  moral  natures.  They  hear  in  their 
consciences  the  same  law  that  the  Jews  hear  in  their  synagogues. 
The  possession  of  God's  law  in  the  conscience  does  not,  as  my 
countrymen  all  agree,  guarantee  to  Gentiles  immunity  from  pun- 
ishment. Neither  will  the  honor  of  possessing  the  written  Mos- 
aic law  guarantee  immunity  to  the  Jew  (15).  It  is  on  the  basis  of 
conduct  alone,  as  I  was  saying,  that  God's  judgment  will  be  pro- 
nounced in  the  day  when  God  will  judge,  through  Jesus  Christ, 
the  invisible  disposition  of  each  man's  heart.  This  is  a  funda- 
mental teaching  of  my  Gospel  as  I  preach  it  everywhere.  It  gives 
no  one  ground  for  thinking  that  God  will  deal  leniently  with  sin 
— whatever  you  may  hear  said  to  the  contrary  either  by  its  critics 
or  its  deluded  friends  (16)." 

12.  Without  law.  The  context  shows  that  the  Mosaic  law  is  meant. 
106 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


2:15 


13.  for  not  the  hearers  of  a  law  are  just  before  God, 
but  the  doers  of  a  law  shall  be  justified: 

14.  for  when  Gentiles  which  have  no  law  do  by  nature 
the  things  of  the  law,  these,  having  no  law,  are  a 
law  unto  themselves; 

15.  in  that  they  shew  the  work  of  the  law  written  in 
their  hearts,  their  conscience  bearing  witness  there- 

13.  Not  the  hearers  of  a  law  are  just  before  God.  The  mar- 
ginal "righteous"  is  better  than  the  word  "just."  The  confusion 
in  thought  which  may  easily  result  from  using  the  two  different 
English  words  "believe"  and  "faith"  to  translate  two  forms  of  the 
same  Greek  root  (see  note  on  i :  16)  is  increased  by  using  the  words 
"just,"  "justify,"  "righteous"  and  "righteousness"  to  translate 
different  forms  of  the  same  Greek  root.  When  God  "justifies"  a 
man  he  pronounces  him  "righteous,"  that  is,  "all  right"  so  far  as 
readiness  for  the  New  Age  is  concerned.     See  note  on  3 :  24. 

Some  of  the  Jews  seem  to  have  felt  about  God's  giving  them  the 
law  as  Paul  felt  about  God's  giving  his  Son  to  men  (8:  32) :  "He 
that  gave  us  his  precious  treasure  the  law,  how  shall  he  not  with 
it  freely  give  us  all  things."  God's  favor  shown  in  trusting  them 
with  a  treasure  so  precious  would  certainly  carry  them  triumph- 
antly through  the  judgment  day  (4  Esdras  5:23-27;  Apoc. 
Baruch  48 :  24).  See  note  on  2 :  3.  For  Paul's  teaching  regarding 
the  purpose  of  the  law  see  notes  on  ch.  7. 

14.  The  things  of  the  law.  The  things  required  by  the  ethical 
principles  of  the  law.  This  does  not  mean  that  they  live  righteous 
lives  sufficient  to  gain  acquittal  in  the  judgment  day,  for  Paul  is 
proving  in  this  section  of  the  epistle  that  all  men  are  unrighteous. 
He  had  however  found  in  his  travels  many  gentlemen  among  Gen- 
tiles whose  moral  instincts  agreed  with  those  of  the  Jews  trained 
in  Mosaism,  and  who  often  followed  these  instincts  in  an  imper- 
fect way.  This  is  better  than  to  suppose  that  Paul  has  in  mind 
here  the  Gentile  Christians.  The  Christian  way  of  righteousness 
is  not  introduced  until  3:21. 

15.  The  work  of  the  law.  The  works  or  conduct  required  by 
the  law.  Written  in  their  hearts.  This  was  an  unwelcome 
thought  to  many  Jews  who  regarded  the  possession  of  the  law 
as  their  own  glorious  and  peculiar  distinction.  'God  had  once 
offered  the  law  to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  Jews,  but  they  re- 
jected it  and  had  ever  since  been  shut  out  from  God.  He  cannot 
work  upon  the  heathen,  cannot  speak  through  their  consciences 

107 


l6  THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 

with,  and  their  thoughts  one  with  another  accusing 
or  else  excusing  them; 

1 6.  in  the  day  when  God  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  men, 
according  to  my  gospel,  by  Jesus  Christ. 

17.  But  if  thou  bearest  the  name  of  a  Jew,  and  restest 
upon  the  law,  and  gloriest  in  God, 

18.  and  knowest  his  will,  and  appro  vest  the  things 
that  are  excellent,  being  instructed  out  of  the  law, 

since  they  have  no  law.'  (Weber.  Die  Lehren  des  Talmud,  pp. 
64-66.)  Doubtless  there  were  Jews  who  held  a  far  more  hopeful 
view  of  Gentiles,  else  there  would  scarcely  have  been  so  many 
Jehovah-worshipping  Gentiles  found  in  the  synagogues  of  the 
dispersion.  Conscience.  A  word  used  by  Stoic  teachers,  but 
this  is  no  evidence  that  Paul  was  more  vitally  influenced  by  their 
teaching  than  was  all  the  rest  of  the  world  in  which  he  lived. 
Accusing  or  else  excusing.  They  accused  others  and  excused 
themselves  in  accordance  with  the  same  moral  presuppositions 
that  appeared  among  the  Jews. 

16.  This  sentence  may  depend  grammatically  on  the  last  word 
of  V.  13  (Sanday)  in  which  case  vs.  14-15  constitute  a  long  and 
important  parenthesis  as  our  translation  indicates.  If  Paul  had 
been  punctuating  he  might  have  preferred  a  dash  after  the  last 
word  of  V.  15,  referring  the  outcome  of  all  that  had  been  said 
above  in  a  general  way  to  the  judgment  day  when  character  will  be 
revealed.  Vs.  14-15  are  sometimes  regarded  as  an  interpolation 
or  a  later  insertion  by  Paul  (see  Moffatt,  Translation  of  the  New 
Testament),  or  v.  16  is  regarded  as  a  later  addition,  but  if  the  in- 
terpretation suggested  in  the  paraphrase  above  is  justified  there 
is  no  need  resorting  to  these  suppositions.  My  gospel.  The  gos- 
pel of  Christ  as  Paul  preaches  it.  It  was  his  particular  interpre- 
tation of  the  gospel  of  Christ  that  was  severely  criticized  by  con- 
servative Christian  Jews  as  well  as  by  non-Christian  Jews.  He 
seemed  to  be  scandalously  lax  in  exempting  Gentile  Christians 
from  the  necessity  of  obeying  the  details  of  the  Mosaic  law. 

There  were  plenty  of  antinomian  Gentile  Christians  also  who 
needed  to  realize  that  their  morally  lax  contempt  for  the  ideals  of 
the  Mosaic  law  could  count  on'no  support  from  Paul.  (cf.  i  Cor. 
6:9-20). 

(c)  Jewish  unrighteousness  especially  flagrant.  Though  the 
Jew  plumes  himself  upon  his  moral  standing  and  is  quick  to  con- 

108 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


19.  and  art  confident  that  thou  thyself  art  a  guide  of 
the  bUnd,  a  light  of  them  that  are  in  darkness, 

20.  a  corrector  of  the  foolish,  a  teacher  of  babes,  hav- 
ing in  the  law  the  form  of  knowledge  and  of  the 
truth : 


demn  Gentile  sins,  he  is  guilty  of  the  same  sins  himself,  and  by 
his  scandalous  conduct  he  disgraces  the  God  in  whom  he  boasts 
among  the  Gentiles  whom  he  despises.     2:17-24. 

"Let  me  speak  to  you  plainly  my  self-confident  fellow  country- 
man. You  bear  the  proud  name  *]ew.'  You  rest  in  complacent 
security  upon  the  fact  that  you  have  been  made  'the  custodian  of 
God's  law.'  You  boast  of  God  as  peculiarly  a  'God  of  Jews'  (17). 
You  have  had  the  special  honor  of  being  granted  'acquaintance 
with  the  will  of  God'  in  the  scriptures.  You  hold,  and  approve  as 
you  think,  higher  standards  of  conduct  thanthose  that  prevail 
among  Gentiles,  since  you  have  been  systematically  'instructed  in 
the  Mosaic  law'  (18).  You  fondly  think  of  yourself  as  'a  guide' 
for  those  whom  you  call  'the  blind,'  'a  light'  for  those  whom  you 
consider  to  be  'in  the  darkness'  (19),  an  'educator'  of  the  'foolish 
folk,'  a  'teacher'  of  'infants,'  one  who  has  in  the  sacred  law  the 
'finished  form  of  knowledge  and  truth'  (20).  Now  then  you  who 
are  so  ready  to  teach  another,  do  you  not  give  yourself  the  advan- 
tage of  your  valuable  teaching?  You  that  preach  publicly  against 
stealing,  can  it  be  that  you  steal  (21)?  You  that  tell  men  not  to 
commit  adultery,  can  it  be  that  you  commit  adultery?  You  that 
shrink  away  in  holy  loathing  from  the  contaminating  presence  of 
pagan  idols,  can  it  be  that  you  sneak  into  the  very  presence  of 
the  idol  in  its  temple  and  steal  the  offerings  that  pious  worshipers 
have  left  there  (22)?  You  that  brag  so  proudly  about  being  the 
custodian  of  God's  law,  do  you  disobey  that  law  and  thereby  in- 
sult God  (23)  ?  It  certainly  is  as  true  today  as  it  was  of  old  when 
the  prophet  said  it,  that  the  holy  name  of  your  God  is  brought 
into  dishonor  among  foreigners  by  the  conduct  of  God's  own 
people.     They  think  God  is  like  his  people  (24)!" 

17-20.  Paul  here  uses  titles  and  phrases  by  which  the  Jew, 
especially  the  Pharisee,  commonly  designated  himself  and  ex- 
pressed his  sense  of  superiority  to  the  unlearned  among  his  own 
people  and  to  the  Gentiles. 

Guide  of  the  blind.  This  and  the  other  designations  indicate 
the  proselyting  zeal  of  some  of  the  Pharisees  (cf.  Matt.  23:  15). 
Babes.     Cf.  Matt.  11:25. 

109 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


21.  thou  therefore  that  teachest  another,  teachest 
thou  not  thyself?  thou  that  preachest  a  man  should 
not  steal,  dost  thou  steal? 

22.  thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adul- 
tery, dost  thou  commit  adultery?  thou  that  ab- 
horrest  idols,  dost  thou  rob  temples? 

23.  thou  who  gloriest  in  the  law,  through  thy  trans- 
gression of  the  law  dishonorest  thou  God? 

24.  For  the  name  of  God  is  blasphemed  among  the 
Gentiles  because  of  you,  even  as  it  is  written. 


21-24.  All  the  sins  mentioned  here  are  not  to  be  thought  of  as 
committed  by  all  Jews,  any  more  than  those  mentioned  i :  18-32 
were  committed  by  all  Gentiles,  but  they  were  sufficiently  com- 
mon to  be  characteristic  of  Jewish  life  in  the  dispersion.  "The 
Jew"  had  a  reputation  for  these  sins  among  the  Gentiles. 

22.  Abhorrest  idols.  The  pious  Jew  would  not  touch  wine  or 
meat  that  might  have  been  connected  with  idol  worship.  He 
would  not  do  business  with  a  Gentile  three  days  before  or  after  a 
heathen  feast  when  the  Gentiles  had  presumably  been  defiled  by 
contact  with  the  apparatus  of  worship  at  a  temple.  Nor  would 
he  go  about  the  streets  of  the  city  on  a  feast  day,  when  he  might 
be  jostled  by  some  worshiper  fresh  from  temple  worship.  Rob 
temples.  The  temples  stood  open  and  sneak  thievery  of  small 
offerings  left  at  shrines  was  possible  (cf.  Acts  19:  37). 

23.  Dishonorest  thou  God.  God  is  dishonored  by  the  trans- 
gression of  his  law  because  he  is  thereby  made  to  appear  to  be  one 
whom  no  one  need  take  into  consideration;  no  attention  need  be 
paid  to  what  he  says. 

24.  As  it  is  written.  In  Is.  52 :  5  words  like  those  indirectly 
quoted  here  appear  but  the  thought  of  the  passage  in  its  context 
is  not  very  applicable  to  this  situation.  The  thought  of  Ezek. 
36:  20  is  more  pertinent.  There  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion  dis- 
grace God's  name  by  their  shameful  behavior.  The  Gentiles  say 
of  them:  "These  are  the  people  of  Jehovah  and  they  came  out 
from  his  land!" 

(d)  Righteousness  a  state  of  heart  and  not  a  matter  of  nation- 
ality. The  only  thing  that  can  constitute  a  man  righteous  is  an 
obedient  heart;  a  circumcised  Jew  with  a  disobedient  heart  is 
just  as  bad  as  a  disobedient  Gentile;  indeed  an  obedient  Gentile 

no 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE    ROMANS 


2:27 


25.  For  circumcision  indeed  profiteth,  if  thou  be  a  doer 
of  the  law:  but  if  thou  be  a  transgressor  of  the 
law,  thy  circumcision  is  become  uncircumcision. 

26.  If  therefore  the  uncircumcision  keep  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  law,  shall  not  his  uncircumcision  be 
reckoned  for  circumcision? 

27.  and  shall  not  the  uncircumcision  which  is  by  na- 
ture, if  it  fulfil  the  law,  judge  thee,  who  with  the 
letter  and  circumcision  art  a  transgressor  of  the 
law? 

would  be  able  to  condemn  a  disobedient  Jew  in  spite  of  the  Jew's 
circumcision,  2 :  25-29. 

"The  rite  of  circumcision  from  which  you  hope  so  much  as  a 
sign  that  you  are  in  an  irrevocable  covenant  with  God  has  a  value 
if  you  keep  God's  law.  It  designates  you  as  a  confessed  law 
keeper.  But  if  you  do  not  keep  the  law  your  circumcision  is  no 
better  than  uncircumcision  (25).  On  the  other  hand  if  an  uncir- 
cumcised  man  should  keep  the  requirements  of  the  law  as  they 
appear  in  his  moral  nature,  would  not  God  look  upon  him  as  a 
circumcised  man?  (26).  May  we  not  go  further  and  say  that  a 
man  of  uncircumcised  body  who  should  keep  God's  law  as  he  has 
it  written  in  his  moral  nature  would  rise  up  in  the  judgment  day 
and  pronounce  condemnation  upon  you  who  in  the  possession  of 
the  Mosaic  law  and  circumcision  transgress  the  law?  (27).  For 
he  is  not  the  true  Jew  who  simply  belongs  to  the  Jewish  nation, 
and  physical  circumcision  is  not  true  circumcision  (28).  The 
genuine  Jew  is  one  who  has  an  Israelite's  heart  and  genuine  cir- 
cumcision is  an  operation  upon  the  heart,  a  heart  which  keeps  the 
spirit  of  the  law  and  not  merely  its  letter.  Such  a  man  gets  praise 
not  from  men,  where  you  too  much  look  for  it,  but  from  God  (29)." 

25.  Profiteth.  The  wearing  of  a  badge  in  public  may  do  good  if 
you  really  are  what  the  badge  indicates.  It  is  wholesome  to  give 
expression  by  an  outward  act  to  an  inner  state.  To  be  a  declared 
servant  of  God  brought  God's  approval. 

26.  The  uncircumcision  keep  the  ordinances  of  the  law.  This 
is  a  purely  hypothetical  case  for  Paul  is  arguing  that  no  one, — 
apart  from  faith  which  he  has  not  yet  introduced  into  the  discus- 
sion,— does  do  this. 

27.  By  nature.  By  birth  and  nationality.  With  the  letter. 
In  possession  of  the  written  law. 

m 


28  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

28.  For  he  is  not  a  Jew,  which  is  one  outwardly; 
neither  is  that  circumcision,  which  is  outward  in 
the  flesh: 

29.  but  he  is  a  Jew,  which  is  one  inwardly;  and  cir- 
cumcision is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  not  in 
the  letter;  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God. 

29.  Circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart.  A  heart  that  has  been 
marked  as  one  that  does  God's  will. 

(e)  An  answer  to  Jewish  protests  and  quibbles  often  heard  in 
the  synagogue.  It  has  indeed  been  an  advantage  to  be  a  Jew 
rather  than  a  Gentile  but  the  advantage  has  not  been  such  as  to 
give  superior  righteousness  and  immunity  from  God's  wrath. 
3:1-9.  (This  recognition  of  Jewish  advantage  will  incidentally 
be  a  wholesome  rebuke  for  such  Gentile  Christians  as  desire  to 
find  in  Paul  an  anti-Semite  like  themselves.) 

''If  God  esteems  the  Gentile  as  highly  as  he  does  the  Jew,  is 
quick  to  appreciate  Gentile  righteousness  and  condemn  Jewish 
sin,  does  it  follow  that  the  Jews  in  all  their  glorious  national  his- 
tory have  had  no  advantage?  Has  there  been  no  gain  in  being  a 
party  to  Jehovah's  great  covenant  of  which  circumcision  is  the 
sign?  (i).  Yes,  indeed,  there  has  been  much  advantage  in 
every  way.  Chief  of  all  there  has  been  the  great  outstanding 
fact  that  the  Jews  have  been  entrusted  with  God's  sacred  oracles 
and  have  lived  under  the  inspiring  influence  of  the  great  messianic 
hope  that  these  oracles  present  (2).  Even  if  some  men  have  been 
faithless  to  their  circumcision  covenant  with  Jehovah,  their  faith- 
lessness will  not  make  him  faithless.  He  will  not  withdraw  the 
messianic  promise.  He  has  not  kept  his  Messiah  in  the  heavens 
(3).  One  must  not  imagine  for  a  moment  that  the  eternal  truth- 
fulness of  God's  promises  will  fail  even  if  'every  man  should  be- 
come a  liar.'  Let  us  not  forget  the  scripture  which  says:  'In  order 
that  thou  mayst  be  pronounced  righteous  when  men  consider  thy 
truthful  words  of  promise  and  that  thou  mayst  be  triumphantly 
recognized  as  truthful  when  thou  art  contending  with  any  man.' 
(4).  This  suggests  what  I  have  often  heard  my  Jewish  country- 
men say  in  protesting  against  the  charge  of  unrighteousness 
brought  against  them  in  m)^  preaching  of  the  gospel,  namely,  that 
it  would  be  unfair  for  God  to  bring  his  wrath  upon  them,  since 
their  unrighteousness  serves  a  useful  purpose:  it  makes  God's 
righteousness  stand  out  more  distinctly  by  contrast.  We  surely 
cannot  say  this?     (I  am  speaking  as  if  a  man  could  venture  to 

112 


THE   EPISTLE   TO  THE   ROMANS  3:2 

3.  What  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew?  or  what  is 
the  profit  of  circumcision? 

2.  Much  every  way:  first  of  all,  that  they  were  in- 
trusted with  the  oracles  of  God. 

judge  God  by  human  standards  of  fairness)  (5).  Certainly  the 
idea  is  wholly  wrong.  See  to  what  unwelcome  consequences  it 
logically  leads  the  Jew. 

In  the  first  place,  if  it  were  true,  God  could  never  judge  the 
wicked  Gentile  world — which  the  Jew  believes  he  so  surely  will 
judge — for  Gentile  unrighteousness  makes  God's  righteousness 
distinct  by  contrast,  just  as  truly  as  does  Jewish  unrighteousness 
(6).  A  second  logical  consequence  of  this  idea,  and  one  very  un- 
welcome to  those  who  advance  the  idea,  is  that  it  would  actually 
make  it  impossible  for  them  any  longer  to  apply  even  to  me  the 
title  'sinner'  which  they  have  so  heartily  and  persistently  conferred 
upon  me!  For  the  lies  they  so  freely  accuse  me  of  uttering  cer- 
tainly would  serve  by  contrast  to  accentuate  God's  truthfulness 
(7)!  And  finally  their  idea  leads  to  another  conclusion  which 
would  certainly  be  unwelcome  to  them.  They  would  not  really  be 
willing  would  they,  to  go  the  logical  length  of  their  excuse  and 
actually  adopt  the  maxim  they  slanderously  attribute  to  us:  'Let 
us  do  evil  that  good  may  come'? — Those  who  do  attribute  this 
maxim  to  us  will  find  out  that  God  does  judge  the  world  and  in- 
cludes them  in  his  condemnation  (8)! 

What  then  shall  be  our  conclusion?  Has  God,  in  giving  us  Jews 
certain  advantages  over  Gentiles,  really  showed  a  preference  for 
us?  Certainly  not  in  all  particulars  and  not  at  all  in  the  point  of 
recognizing  any  superior  righteousness  in  us,  for  we  have  brought 
Jews  as  well  as  Greeks  under  the  charge  of  sin"  (9). 

1.  The  paragraph  vs.  1-8  has  almost  a  tumultuous  excess  of 
thought  and  suggests  the  tumultuous  excitement  into  which  Paul 
had  thrown  many  a  synagogue  audience  by  the  assertions  that 
have  just  preceded.  Indignant  Jews  had  hurled  these  questions 
at  him  perhaps  even  before  his  discourse  was  ended  and  after  it 
was  over  there  had  been  hours  of  heated  discussion  on  these 
points.  In  the  strife  of  the  last  few  months  over  the  Corinthian 
situation  he  had  repeatedly  gone  over  the  points  alluded  to  here. 
The  original  readers  who  were  familiar  with  these  ideas  probably 
had  little  of  the  difficulty  we  experience  in  following  Paul's  line 
of  thought. 

2.  The  oracles  of  God.  Especially  promises,  as  is  evident  from 
V.  4,  and  chiefly  the  great  promise  of  the  Messiah  specified  in 
1 :  2-3.     Although  Paul  held  that  these  oracles  promised  messi- 

8  113 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


3.  For  what  if  some  were  without  faith?  shall  their 
want  of  faith  make  of  none  effect  the  faithfulness 
of  God? 

4.  God  forbid :  yea,  let  God  be  found  true,  but  every 
man  a  liar;  as  it  is  written.  That  thou  mightest  be 
justified  in  thy  words,  And  mightest  prevail  when 
thou  comest  into  judgement. 

5.  But  if  our  unrighteousness  commendeth  the 
righteousness  of  God,  what  shall  we  say?  Is  God 
unrighteous  who  visiteth  with  wrath?  (I  speak 
after  the  manner  of  men.) 

6.  God  forbid:  for  then  how  shall  God  judge  the 
world? 

7.  But  if  the  truth  of  God  through  my  lie  abounded 

anic  salvation  to  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews  (4:9;  12,  Gal.  3:8),  yet 
it  was  the  Jew  only  who  had  experienced  the  uplifting  influence 
incident  to  having  this  promise  always  before  his  mind.  Other 
advantages  of  the  Jew  are  mentioned  in  9:4-5.  Some  were 
without  faith.  Paul  faced  the  fact  that  many  Jews  had  not  been 
ready  to  receive  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  made  in  Jesus 
Christ.     He  will  discuss  their  case  at  length  in  chapters  9-1 1. 

4.  Every  man  a  liar.  Ps.  116:  11.  Even  if  every  man  should 
be  false  we  must  not  doubt  the  reliability  of  God.  Comest  into 
judgment.  In  Matt.  5:  40,  I  Cor.  6:  i  the  word  means  "to  have 
litigation  with." 

5.  Commendeth  the  righteousness  of  God.  By  making  it  con- 
spicuous in  contrast.  Is  God  unrighteous?  Perhaps  better: 
"What  shall  we  say?  Not  'God  is  unrighteous  in  bringing  wrath 
upon  us'?" 

6.  How  shall  God  judge  the  world?  If  the  Jew  could  escape 
punishment  because  his  sin  had  emphasized  God's  righteousness, 
so  could  the  Gentile  and  there  would  then  be  no  world  judgment. 

7.  But  if.  Better,  marginal  reading,  "For  if."  A  second 
objection  to  the  position  taken  in  v.  5.  My  lie.  This  is  not 
merely  a  suppositional  case — any  one's  lie.  V.  8  shows  that  Paul 
is  talking  about  his  own  case.  Enemies  in  Corinth  have  lately 
loudly  accused  him  of  lying  (II  Cor.^  i :  17,  4:  2,  6:  8,  11 :  31)  and 
he  thinks  that  echoes  of  the  accusation  will  have  reached  Rome. 

114 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  3:9 

unto  his  glory,  why  am  I  also  still  judged  as  a 
sinner? 

8.  and  why  not  (as  we  be  slanderously  reported,  and 
as  some  affirm  that  we  say),  Let  us  do  evil,  that 
good  may  come?  whose  condemnation  is  just. 

9.  What  then?  are  we  in  worse  case  than  they?  No, 
in  no  wise:  for  we  before  laid  to  the  charge  both 
of  Jews  and  Greeks,  that  they  are  all  under  sin ; 


8.  And  why  not.  Better  "And  certainly  not,"  that  is,  'They 
certainly  will  not  say  will  they"  etc.  There  is  no  "why"  in  the 
Greek.  R.  V.  and  most  translators  continue  the  force  of  "why" 
in  the  last  clause  of  v.  7,  but  as  indicated  in  the  paraphrase  v.  8 
may  be  regarded  as  a  third  objection  to  the  position  taken  in  v.  5, 
the  first  and  second  objections  being  found  respectively  in  v.  6 
and  V.  7.  Let  us  do  evil.  This  view  of  Paul's  Gospel  he  will  dis- 
cuss in  6:  iff. 

9.  What  then.  What  then  is  the  conclusion?  Are  we  in 
worse  case  than  they?  American  Revision:  Are  we  better 
than  they?  The  single  Greek  word  so  translated  has  been  the 
subject  of  much  discussion.  It  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New 
Testament  and  only  once  in  the  Septuagint  version  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Perhaps,  "Are  we  given  the  preference  over  them?" 
Paul  has  said  in  vs.  1-3  that  the  Jew  has  had  certain  advantages 
that  the  Gentile  has  not  had.  Have  these  advantages  then  been 
such  as  to  give  the  Jew  a  place  in  God's  esteem  above  that  of  the 
Gentile?  No,  in  no  wise.  Or  "Not  in  all  particulars"  and  cer- 
tainly not  in  the  point  of  righteousness  for,  as  Paul  has  asserted 
before  Jews,  and  Greeks  alike  are  regarded  by  God  as  sinners, 
Paul  never  divested  himself  of  a  certain  Jewish  pride  of  race, 
growing  out  of  his  conviction  that  the  Jews  were  in  a  peculiar 
sense 'God's  people.'  (11:1-2,28-29.)  They  were  the  original, 
carefully  cultivated  olive  root,  while  the  Gentiles  were  wild  olive 
grafts  (11:  17-24). 

(f)  The  Jewish  law  itself  proves  the  Jews'  unrighteousness. 
The  Jewish  law  itself  speaks  of  its  subjects  in  scathing  terms. 
Citizenship  in  a  nation  so  described  by  its  own  law  cannot  guar- 
antee righteousness.  If  the  simple  fact  that  a  man  is  called  a 
Gentile  is  prima  facie  evidence  that  he  is  a  sinner,  so  also  to  call 
a  man  a  Jew  is  equivalent  to  calling  him  a  sinner.     So  all  the 

115 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


10.  as  it  is  written,  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not 
one; 

11.  There  is  none  that  understandeth,  there  is  none 
that  seeketh  after  God ; 

12.  They  have  all  turned  aside,  they  are  together 
become  unprofitable;  there  is  none  that  doeth 
good,  no,  not  so  much  as  one: 

13.  Their   throat   is   an   open   sepulchre;   with   their 


human  race  stands  under  the  judgment  of  God  and  there  is  no 
hope  to  be  looked  for  from  law,  3:10-20. 

"The  charge  that  Jews  are  sinners  stands  clearly  stated  in  the 
Jewish  scriptures  themselves.  Listen  to  the  indictment  they 
present:  'There  is  not  even  one  righteous  person  (10).  There  is 
no  intelligent,  thoughtful  man  who  seeks  after  God  (11).  All 
have  wandered  off.  They  have  together  become  useless.  There 
is  no  one  ready  to  do  kindness — not  a  single  individual  (12). 
Their  throat  is  like  an  open  sepulchre  belching  out  the  defiling 
stench  of  a  corrupt  heart.  Their  tongues  speak  treachery.  Their 
words  sting  fatally  as  if  the  deadly  poison  of  asps  lay  just  behind 
their  lips  (13).  Theirmouthsarefullof  cursings  and  bitter  speech 
(14).  They  run  with  eager  swiftness  to  a  spot  where  they  think 
there  will  be  a  chance  to  shed  blood  (15).  They  bring  distress  and 
misery  wherever  they  go  (16).  They  know  nothing  about  the 
way  of  peace  (17).     It  never  occurs  to  them  to  fear  God'  (18). 

Now  we  know  that  the  statements  made  in  a  law  are  addressed 
to  the  persons  that  live  under  the  jurisdiction  of  that  law.  These 
terrible  words  of  the  Jewish  law  are  therefore  addressed  to  Jews. 
The  purpose  of  such  strenuous  utterances  to  those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  regard  themselves  as  God's  favorites  is  to  shut  up  every 
mouth  that  might  be  inclined  to  claim  righteousness  and  to  bring 
the  entire  world  under  the  penalty  inflicted  by  a  righteous  God 
(19).  Because  deeds  of  obedience  to  law,  such  as  the  Jew  rests 
his  claim  of  righteousness  upon,  can  never  make  a  man  righteous. 
Law  does  not  fit  flesh  for  judgment.  What  law  does  is  simply  to 
make  a  man  clearly  conscious  of  sin  (20)." 

10.  As  it  is  written.  The  statements  that  follow  are  mostly 
taken  from  the  Psalms  as  the  m.arginal  references  indicate.  The 
thought  is  not  that  this  description  fits  in  all  its  details  every  in- 
dividual Jew  in  every  age,  but  that  citizenship  in  a  nation  of 
which  God  could  so  speak  surely  would  not  confer  righteousness. 

116 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


tongues  they  have  used  deceit:  the  poison  of  asps 
is  under  their  Hps: 

14.  Whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  bitterness: 

15.  Their  feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood; 

16.  Destruction  and  misery  are  in  their  ways; 

17.  And  the  way  of  peace  have  they  not  known: 

18.  There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes. 

19.  Now  we  know  that  what  things  soever  the  law 
saith,  it  speaketh  to  them  that  are  under  the  law; 
that  every  mouth  may  be  stopped,  and  all  the 
world  may  be  brought  under  the  judgement  of 
God: 

20.  because  by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be 
justified  in  his  sight:  for  through  the  law  cometh 
the  knowledge  of  sin. 


19.  The  Law.  Paul  sometimes  designates  by  the  word  law 
any  part  of  the  Old  Testament, — here  the  Psalms.  Often  he  uses 
the  word  in  a  narrower  sense — the  Mosaic  law  {e.  g.  Gal.  3:  17). 

20.  The  works  of  the  law.  Better,  marginal  reading  "works  of 
law."  The  phrase  had  a  technical  meaning  among  many  Jews. 
It  designated  specific  acts  of  obedience  to  particular  command- 
ments, each  such  act  winning  for  a  man  a  certain  credit  in  terms 
of  righteousness.  If  his  credits  exceeded  his  debits  when  his  life 
account  was  balanced  he  was  "righteous."  (Weber,  Die  Lehren 
des  Talmud  pp.  270-276.)  This  mechanical  view  is  of  course 
not  the  only  one  that  appears  in  the  Talmud.  (Schechter,  Some 
Aspects  of  Rabbinic  Theology;  Herford,  Pharisaism).  Justified. 
Pronounced  righteous,  or  acceptable  to  God,  or  treated  as  right- 
eous. See  on  2:  13  and  3:24.  Through  the  law  cometh  the 
knowledge  of  sin.  Better,  "through  law  a  clear  knowledge  of 
sin."  Paul  will  show  in  7:  7  ff.  that  the  function  of  law  is  not 
to  serve  as  a  sufficient  and  direct  means  of  gaining  righteousness. 
It  is  rather  to  make  a  man  realize  how  badly  off  he  is,  not  simply 
by  showing  him  what  he  ought  to  do,  but  by  forcing  upon  his 
consciousness  the  fact  that  because  of  Sin's  power  over  him  he 
will  not  do  what  he  ought  to  do. 

117 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


3.  Righteousness  by  faith  available  for  guilty  humanity. 
Although  no  one  has  so  obeyed  God's  law  as  to  make 
him  a  righteous  man,  yet  a  righteousness  is  never- 
theless possible  for  all  men,  Gentiles  as  well  as 
Jews,  as  the  law  and  prophets  have  long  been  tes- 
tifying. It  is  the  righteousness  that  belongs  to  him 
who  has  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  one  whom  God 
has  set  forth  to  give  evidence  by  his  bloody  death 
that  God  has  not  been  lacking  in  righteous  abhorrence 

"But  now,  without  any  such  use  of  law  as  our  Jewish  teachers 
make  of  it,  a  way  of  becoming  righteous  has  been  revealed  by  God, 
not  a  new  way  in  our  day  to  be  sure,  for  it  has  long  been  advocated 
by  the  law  and  the  prophets  (21).  God's  way  of  making  men 
righteous  is  through  their  belief  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  is,  through 
the  surrender  of  their  lives  as  bondmen  to  him,  their  living  Lord. 
It  is  a  way  of  becoming  righteous  that  is  available  for  all  who  do 
so  believe  in  him,  whether  they  be  Jews  or  Gentiles.  God  makes 
no  distinction  between  them  in  this  particular  (22).  Both  need 
this  righteousness  for  both  have  sinned  and  thereby  lost  their 
hope  of  sharing  the  radiant  and  holy  life  of  God's  heavenly  spirit 
world  (23).  The  only  resource  of  both  Jew  and  Gentile  is  to  be 
pronounced  righteous,  that  is,  to  be  forgiven,  by  God,  simply  as  a 
gift,  not  as  something  they  can  do  enough  righteous  deeds  to 
deserve,  but  as  an  expression  of  his  beautiful  kindness  ("grace"). 
He  is  able  so  to  pronounce  them  righteous  because  of  the  emanci- 
pation from  bondage  to  sin  and  its  consequences,  experienced  by 
them  in  the  vital  and  purifying  relation  to  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
death  which  is  theirs  when,  as  willing  bondmen,  they  accept  him 
as  Lord  (24).  God  it  was  who  introduced  Jesus  Christ  into  the 
world,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  put  his  own  righteousness  ever  more 
beyond  question.  For  God  set  him  forth  in  his  blood  as  a  concili- 
atory offering,  provided  not  by  men,  but  strange  to  say  in  amaz- 
ing grace  by  God  himself,  an  offering  of  conciliatory  power  for  all 
who  gather  about  him  as  the  Lord  of  their  lives  in  faith.  God's 
free  forgiveness  of  sin  for  centuries — an  almost  indifferent  passing 
over  of  sin  it  may  have  seemed — might  make  men  feel  that  he 
lacked  the  abhorrence  of  sin  requisite  in  a  righteous  God  (25). 
But,  I  say  again,  now  in  our  day  God  has  made  his  righteous  ab- 
horrence of  sin  forevermore  evident  by  setting  forth  in  awesome 
blood  Jesus  Christ,  so  that  now  without  raising  suspicion  of  his 
righteousness  he  may  pronounce  righteous  the  sinful  man  who 

118 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  3:21 

of  sin  during  all  the  generations  in  which  he  has 
been  forgiving  the  sins  of  penitent  men.  Though 
this  righteousness  is  apart  from  law,  it  is  not  hostile 
to  law;  indeed  it  is  actually  the  result  the  law  sought 
hut  always  failed  to  secure,  j:  21-31. 
21.  But  now  apart  from  the  law  a  righteousness  of 
God  hath  been  manifested,  being  witnessed  by 
the  law  and  the  prophets ; 

stands  in  penitent  submission  before  Jesus  as  his  living  Lord  (26). 
Where  then  is  there  place  left  for  the  boastful  spirit  with  which 
the  Jew  is  accustomed  to  speak  of  his  righteousness?  There  is  no 
place  for  it.  What  principle  deprives  it  of  its  place?  The  prin- 
ciple of  righteousness  gained  by  many  deeds  of  obedience  to  law? 
No  indeed,  for  by  that  principle  he  would  have  no  righteousness 
at  all,  while  now  he  really  does  have  righteousness.  No,  his 
famous  boasting  is  stopped  by  the  very  principle  of  faith  in  Jesus 
which  gave  him  his  righteousness,  for  a  man  cannot  brag  of  what 
has  been  simply  given  to  him  without  his  desert;  he  cannot  brag  of 
being  pronounced  righteous  because  of  simply  committing  him- 
self in  penitential  obedience  to  the  control  of  Jesus  Christ  (27). 
For  we  do  hold  that  this  is  the  way  in  which  a  man  is  pronounced 
righteous,  without  any  proud  effort  to  accumulate  righteousness 
by  many  ostentatious  acts  of  valuable  obedience  to  law  (28). 
This  is  the  way  any  man  must  be  pronounced  righteous.  Is  it 
Jews  only  that  have  this  privilege?  Is  the  God  who  is  revealed 
in  Jesus'  bloody  death  the  God  of  Jews  alone?  Is  he  not  also  the 
God  of  Gentiles?  Surely  he  must  be,  unless  there  are  two  Gods, 
a  Jewish  God  and  a  Gentile  God  (29).  But  there  is  only  one  God 
as  we  Jews  more  insistently  than  any  others  declare.  This  one 
and  only  God  therefore  will  pronounce  both  Jews  and  Gentiles 
righteous  on  the  same  condition,  namely,  faith  (30).  Do  we  by 
this  argument  destroy  law  and  does  faith  make  the  purpose  of 
law  null?  No  indeed!  We  establish  law,  for  men  who  live  in 
faith-fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ  will  actually  live  the  life  of 
love  which  the  law  held  up  as  its  ideal  but  was  never  able  to  en- 
force (31).     (Cf.8:i-3,  13:8-10)." 

21.  Apart  from  the  law.  Law  brings  to  light  sin  in  the  heart 
and  pronounces  the  penalty  of  God's  wrath  upon  it,  but  God  has 
another  and  hopeful  way  of  dealing  with  sin.  A  righteousness  of 
God.  Suggestive  of  several  ideas  to  the  original  readers.  See 
note  on  1 :  17.    Here  chiefly  a  righteousness  possible  for  men,  a  life 

119 


22  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

22.  even  the  righteousness  of  God  through  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ  unto  all  them  that  believe;  for  there 
is  no  distinction ; 

23 .  for  all  have  sinned ,  and  fall  short  of  the  glory  of  God ; 

24.  being  justified  freely  by  his  grace  through  the  re- 
demption that  is  in  Christ  Jesus: 

rightly  related  to  God  and  men  and  leading  to  the  great  pro- 
nouncement of  righteousness,  or  acquittal,  in  the  judgment  day. 
Witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Not  simply  foretold  by 
them  as  a  future  possibility  but  also  urged  upon  their  contem- 
poraries as  the  only  possible  righteousness.  Paul  holds  that  in 
the  centuries  before  Christ  all  who  were  righteous  were  righteous 
by  faith,  even  Abraham  and  David  (4:  1-8).  He  has  just  said 
(v.  20)  that  no  one  could  ever  become  righteous  through  connec- 
tion with  law.  In  Gal.  3:23-25  he  seems  to  contradict  this  by 
speaking  of  a  period  "before  faith  came."  The  contradiction  is 
only  apparent  for  there  too  he  holds  that  righteousness  cannot 
possibly  be  gained  by  connection  with  law  (Gal.  3:  10-12).  The 
phrase  "before  faith  came"  may  mean  before  Christ,  the  revela- 
tion of  God,  the  clearly  revealed  object  of  faith,  came.  Before 
that  time  men  had  been  "under  the  law"  (Gal.  3:  23),  not  that 
they  might  become  righteous  by  obeying  it  (Gal.  3:  11)  but  that 
it  might  drive  them  to  the  penitent  contrite  heart  of  faith  in  God 
so  emphasized  by  Psalmists  and  prophets.  After  the  clearer 
revelation  of  God,  the  object  of  faith,  had  been  made  in  the  person 
of  Christ,  the  law  ceased  to  serve  even  this  subsidiary  purpose 
(Gal.  3:  23-24).  Christ  made  a  more  pungent,  as  well  as  a  more 
hopeful,  appeal  to  the  conscience  than  did  the  law. 

22.  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  ^g/^*e/in  Jesus  Christ.  The  Greek 
word  translated  faith  is  simply  the  substantive  form  of  the  verb 
translated  "believe."  All  them  that  believe.  Believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  that  is,  yield  the  control  of  their  lives  to  him  as  living 
Lord,  become  his  "bondmen"  (i :  i).     See  note  on  i :  16. 

23.  Glory  of  God.     Note  on  2:  7. 

24.  Being  justified.  Being  pronounced  righteous,  or  accept- 
able to  God.  The  man  who  stands  before  Jesus,  in  the  "faith"  or 
"belief"  that  recognizes  Jesus'  Lordship  is,  in  advance  of  the 
judgment  day,  pronounced  by  God  to  be  "righteous,"  that  is 
rightly  related  to  God  and  men.  This  act  of  God  involves  three 
things  that  will  appear  in  the  further  study  of  Paul's  thought :  ( i ) 
the  recognition  of  the  penitent  man's  present  relation  to  God  and 
men  as  of  necessity  right,  because  in  taking  Jesus  as  his  Lord  he 
necessarily  begins  to  adopt  Jesus'  loving  relationship  to  God  as 

120 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  3:25 

25.  whom  God  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  through 

Father  and  men  as  brothers;  (2)  the  free  forgiveness  of  his  guilty 
past,  repentance  for  which  is  necessarily  an  element  of  his  sub- 
missive belief  in  Jesus;  (3)  the  taking  of  measures  to  keep  him 
permanently  right  in  the  future,  the  granting  to  him  of  inspiring 
spiritual  fellowship  with  Christ,  or  the  strengthening  fellowship  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Grace.  See  note  on  1:5.  Through  the  re- 
demption. It  is  through,  or  in  connection  with,  the  emancipa- 
tion of  men  from  the  power  of  evil,  that  God's  pronouncement  of 
righteousness  takes  place.  Redemption  is  a  word  which  some- 
times designates  the  happy  future  of  men  when  in  the  Spirit  Age 
they  will  be  "redeemed,"  or  emancipated,  from  the  evils  of  this 
present  age.  The  days  just  before  the  Son  of  Man  comes  in  the 
clouds  will  be  the  time  when  this  "redemption  draweth  nigh" 
(Luke  21:28).  They  will  then  experience  the  "redemption  of 
their  bodies"  (Romans  8:  23)  from  the  reign  of  decay  and  death. 
The  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  marks  them  now  as  men  ready 
for  this  future  "day  of  redemption"  (Eph.  4:  30).  It  is  also  a 
present  phenomenon  and  as  such  is  nearly  equivalent  to  forgive- 
ness: in  Christ  we  have  our  "redemption  through  his  blood,  the 
forgiveness  of  our  trespasses"  (Eph.  1:7).  Here  in  Rornans  it  is 
both  present  and  future.  It  is  that  present  emancipation  from 
the  power  of  evil  which  comes  with  God's  forgiveness,  and  which 
will  ultimately  issue  in  the  new  era  of  emancipation.  That  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  This  emancipation  is  wrought  by  what  Jesus 
Christ  is  and  does  and  is  experienced  in  the  disciple's  close  con- 
nection with  him.  The  fact  that  Jesus'  death  is  immediately 
mentioned  in  v.  25  would  seem  to  imply,  though  it  does  not 
assert,  that  there  is  connection  between  his  death  and  the  be- 
liever's emancipation.  This  is  more  apparent  in  5:9  and  is 
explicitly  asserted  in  Eph.  1:7. 

25.  Whom  God  set  forth.  The  whole  redemptive  process 
originated  in  the  love  of  God  (cf .  5 :  8)  and  cannot  therefore  he 
regarded  as  an  effort  to  placate  God  or  make  him  feel  more  kindly 
toward  men.  The  word  translated  "set  forth"_  sometimes  means 
"to  purpose,"  that  is,  to  set  before  one's  self  as  his  aim  {e.  g.,  i :  13). 
Soe.  g.,  Weinel,  Paul  p.  306,  and  Lightfoot,  Notes  on  the  Epistles  of 
Paul.  But  better:  "Made  to  stand  out  clearly  in  the  sight 
of  all  men."  (So  LXX  Ps.  54:  3,  86:  14).  The  figure  that  fol- 
lows is  that  of  an  imposing  votive  monument  or  a  vast  sacrifice 
covered  with  blood.  A  propitiation.  Or  an  adjective,  "propitia- 
tory." The  word  is  used  by  Paul  only  here.  The  idea  is  that  of 
conciliation  and  is  the  same  as  that  expressed  by  the  words 
reconciliation  and  reconcile  which  Paul  frequently  uses  of  Jesus' 
activity  in  bringing  God  and  men  together.     (Rom.  5:  10,  11;  II 

121 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


faith,  by  his  blood,  to  shew  his  righteousness,  be- 


Cor.  5:  18,  19,  20;  Col.  1:20,  21;  Eph.  2:  16).  In  all  these  in- 
stances it  is  men  who  are  reconciled  (see  note  on  5:  10).  In  the 
Greek  translation  of  Ex.  25:  17  (LXX  v.  16)  the  mercy  seat  which 
rested  on  the  ark  was  called  a  "propitiatory  cover"  and  in  the 
sentences  which  follow  (and  elsewhere  also)  the  word  "propitia- 
tory" alone  is  used  to  designate  the  mercy  seat.  This  has  led  to 
the  supposition  that  Paul  here  represented  Jesus  as  the  mercy 
seat  or  place  of  mercy.  (Origen,  Ritschl;  see  discussion  and  ad- 
verse view  in  Lightfoot,  Notes  on  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  p.  272,) 
In  that  case  Jesus,  the  mercy  seat,  is  sprinkled  with  his  own  blood 
which  seems  to  make  it  improbable  that  Paul  had  this  figure  in 
mind.     (Against  it,  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  pp.  124  ff.) 

If  the  word  be  regarded  as  an  adjective  the  noun  to  be  supplied 
may  be  either  some  word  meaning  votive  monument  or  sacrifice. 
If  the  former  then  Paul's  figure  would  be  that  of  a  great  monu- 
ment stained  with  blood,  erected  to  secure  and  commemorate  the 
solemn  reconciliation  of  God  and  men.  In  favor  of  such  an  inter- 
pretation is  the  fact  that  the  word  propitiatory  is  found  on  the 
pedestals  of  votive  monuments  or  statues.  In  Paul's  day  there 
was  on  the  island  of  Cos  a  votive  offering  which  bore  an  inscrip- 
tion stating  that  it  was  put  in  place  by  the  people  as  "propitiatory 
to  the  gods"  (theois  hilasterion)  in  behalf  of  the  welfare  of  the 
Emperor  Augustus  (Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  p.  131).  Accord- 
ing to  Josephus  {Ant.  16:  7:  i)  Herod  built  a  "propitiatory  monu- 
ment" of  white  stone  at  the  mouth  of  David's  sepulchre  to 
compensate  for  his  sacrilegious  attempt  to  rob  the  grave  of  its 
supposed  treasure. 

Among  other  figures  which  Paul  uses  to  set  forth  different  as- 
pects of  the  significance  of  Jesus'  death  is  that  of  the  sacrifice. 
Twice  he  explicitly  refers  to  sacrifice,  once  in  general  terms,  "an 
offering  and  a  sacrifice"  (Eph.  5:  2)  and  again  more  particularly 
to  a  paschal  sacrifice  (I  Cor.  5:  7).  It  may  be  also  that  the  idea 
of  sacrifice  lies  back  of  statements  which  represent  Jesus  as  dying 
for  us  although  this  is  not  necessarily  the  case.  If  that  be  true 
here,  then  the  figure  is  that  of  a  vast  sacrifice  covered  with  blood, 
set  up  by  God  in  great  love  before  the  eyes  of  all  men  as  means 
and  sign  of  reconciliation  between  God  and  men.  The  particular 
effect  of  such  an  exhibition  which  Paul  is  concerned  to  emphasize 
here  is  not  its  "redemptive"  value,  which  is  simply  assumed  and 
not  emphasized.  The  point  he  is  concerned  to  emphasize  will  be 
noted  in  a  moment. 

Through  faith.  The  phrase  modifies  "propitiatory."  It  is 
through  faith,  or  in  the  case  of  the  man  of  faith,  that  the  concilia- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


3:25 


cause  of  the  passing  over  of  the  sins  done  afore- 
time in  the  forbearance  of  God; 


tory  power  of  the  great  spectacle  is  realized.  It  is  the  man  who 
stands  before  the  bloody  Christ  whom  God  has  "set  forth"  as  a 
revelation  of  himself  and  who  yields  himself  in  submissive  faith 
to  the  control  of  his  blood  stained  Lord  who  experiences  the  power 
of  reconciliation.  By  his  blood.  American  Revision:  In  his 
blood.  May  modify  either  "set  forth"  or  "propitiatory":  "whom 
God  set  forth  in  his  blood  propitiatory  through  faith,"  or  "whom 
God  set  forth  propitiatory  by  his  blood  through  faith."  To  speak 
of  the  blood  as  the  object  of  faith — "faith  in  his  blood" — is  not 
in  accord  with  ordinary  Pauline  usage.  The  R.  V.  indicates  this 
by  placing  a  comma  after  faith. 

To  show  his  righteousness.  This  phrase  is  the  key  to  the  whole 
passage  as  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  its  idea  appears  three 
times  in  the  short  space  of  two  verses  (25-26).  The  third  time  is 
266  where  "just"  should  be  translated  "righteous"  as  indicated  in 
the  margin — "that  he  might  himself  be  righteous  and  pronounce 
righteous  etc."  Evidently  the  synagogue  criticised  Paul's  gospel 
on  the  ground  that  it  attributed  to  God  an  unrighteously  lenient 
attitude  toward  sin,  "Sinners  of  the  Gentiles"  were  encouraged 
by  Paul  to  believe  that  without  becoming  Jews  and  without  as- 
suming any  obligation  to  keep  the  Mosaic  law  they  could  consider 
their  sins  forgiven,  could  look  forward  to  survival  after  the  judg- 
ment day,  and  to  participation  in  God's  New  Spirit  Age  with  all 
the  traditional  confidence  of  the  Jew,  provided  only  that  they 
would  enroll  themselves  as  the  believing  bondmen  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Furthermore  as  Paul  looked  back  across  the  centuries  he  taught 
that  God  had  always  been  forgiving  the  sins  of  men,  in  view  of 
their  penitent  faith  in  him,  and  not  because  of  their  unfailing 
obedience  to  the  Mosaic  law.  Paul  seems  to  admit  that  it  was 
not  unnatural  for  the  synagogue  to  think  that  this  view  did  imply 
in  God  an  unrighteous  lack  of  deep  feeling  against  sin.  Paul  had 
very  likely  himself  once  thought  so.  But  he  maintains  that  since 
God  has  set  forth  Jesus  in  his  blood,  no  one  can  any  longer  doubt 
God's  righteous  abhorrence  of  sin.  How  does  the  sight  of  Jesus 
in  his  blood  show  this?  Paul  does  not  explain  but  assumes  that 
in  the  minds  of  his  readers  there  are  associations  connected  with 
blood  which  prove  an  abhorrence  of  sin  on  the  part  of  him  who 
presents  the  blood. 

The  fact  that  God  has  set  forth  Jesus  in  blood  will  show  con- 
clusively to  their  minds  that  no  matter  how  leniently  he  had  dealt 
with  sinners  in  the  past  he  really  did  and  does  have  a  righteous 

123 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


26.  for  the  shewing,  /  say,  of  his  righteousness  at  this 
present  season:  that  he  might  himself  be  just, 
and  the  justifier  of  him  that  hath  faith  in  Jesus. 

27.  Where  then  is  the  glorying?     It  is  excluded.     By 
what  manner  of  law?  of  works?     Nay:  but  by  a 

law  of  faith. 

abhorrence  of  sin.  The  sight  of  blood  does  not  Arouse  any  such 
associations  in  our  minds,  but  there  is  found  elsewhere  in  Paul  an 
idea  that  appeals  to  us  strongly.  In  Col.  i:  19-20  Paul  uses  a 
figure  somewhat  like  that  used  here  in  Romans.  It  is  the  figure 
of  a  bloody  cross  set  up  in  the  sight  not  only  of  the  whole  earth 
but  of  all  the  heavens,  establishing  "reconciliation"  and  "peace" 
throughout  the  universe.  In  the  context  he  emphasizes  the  idea 
that  Jesus  is  "the  image  of  the  invisible  God"  (i:  15).  That  is, 
Jesus,  suffering  mortal,  bloody  distress  over  the  sins  of  men, 
images  to  all  the  universe  the  feeling  of  the  invisible  God  about 
human  sin.  The  same  idea  appears  in  II  Cor.  5:  19  where  the 
death  of  Christ  is  under  discussion.  There  it  is  said  that  "God 
was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  himself."  Paul  guards 
against  the  idea  that  God  did  something  to  Jesus  and  insists  rather 
that  he  did  something  in  Jesus.  In  the  moral  distress  of  Jesus 
over  the  sins  of  men  God  gained  expression  for  his  own  feeling. 
No  one  therefore  who  sees  Jesus  whom  God  has  set  forth  in  blood, 
in  whom  God  has  set  himself  forth  in  blood,  can  doubt  God's 
righteous  abhorrence  of  sin.  God  can  henceforth  pronounce 
righteous  the  penitent  man  who  has  faith  in  Jesus,  without  any 
risk  to  his  own  reputation  for  righteousness.  Because  of.  Made 
necessary  because  of.  Passing  over  {paresis).  May  be  simply 
equivalent  to  forgiveness  (aphesis)  but  perhaps  indicates  a  lesser 
degree  of  attention,  more  apparent  indifference  (cf.  Acts  17:  30). 
Just.     Righteous;  justifier,  one  who  pronounces  righteous. 

26.  Faith  in  Jesus.  Marginal  reading  "faith  of  Jesus"  but 
much  more  probably  "faith  in  Jesus."  Same  construction  in 
Mk.  11:22,  "faith  in  God."  The  author  of  Hebrews  (12:2) 
represents  Jesus  as  the  great  illustration  of  faith  in  God  and  one 
might  be  inclined  to  find  here  in  Romans  an  expression  of  the  idea 
that  the  one  who  takes  Jesus  as  his  Lord  shares  Jesus' faith  in  God. 
But  Paul  does  not  commonly  speak  of  Jesus'  faith  in  God.  He 
rather  regards  Jesus  as  the  revelation  of  God  who  is  himself 
therefore  the  object  of  faith. 

27.  The  glorying.  So  characteristic  of  the  Jew.  Manner  of 
law,  law  here  equivalent  to  "principle." 

124 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


28.  We  reckon  therefore  that  a  man  is  justified  by 
faith  apart  from  the  works  of  the  law. 

29.  Or  is  God  tJie  God  of  Jews  only?  is  he  not  the  God 
of  Gentiles  also?     Yea,  of  Gentiles  also: 

30.  if  so  be  that  God  is  one,  and  he  shall  justify  the 
circumcision  by  faith,  and  the  uncircumcision 
through  faith. 

31.  Do  we  then  make  the  law  of  none  effect  through 
faith?     God  forbid:  nay,  we  establish  the  law. 

4.  Abraham  and  David  witnesses  for  righteousness  by 
faith.  The  case  of  Abraham,  the  great  founder  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  confirmed  by  the  words  of  Davidj 
the  great  Jewish  king,  proves  that  no  righteousness 
except  that  of  faith  is  possible  for  Jews  and  that 
God  always  planned  to  have  Gentiles  also  possess  it, 
Ch.  4. 


30.  By  faith.  Through  faith.  It  is  hard  to  see  any  difference 
in  thought  for  Paul  holds  that  Jew  and  Gentile  gain  righteousness 
in  the  same  way. 

31.  The  law.  Margin  "law,"  the  conscience  law  (2:  14,  15)  as 
well  as  the  Mosaic  law.     Establish.     See  paraphrase. 

( I )  Are  tJie  men  of  tJie  synagogue  better  than  A hraham!     Since 
Abraham,  the  father  of  the  Jewish  people,  had  only  right- 
eousness by  faith,  hoiv  can  lesser  Jews  expect  anything 
more  pretentioiisly  meritorious  for  themselves?     4:1-5. 
"I  have  said  that  there  is  no  place  left  for  that  boasting  which 
is  so  common  among  Jews  when  they  compare  themselves  in 
respect  to  righteousness  with  Gentile  'sinners.'     I  know  from  ex- 
perience that  some  one  will  at  once  cite  Abraham  and  maintain 
that  he,  our  natural  forefather,  surely  had  reason  to  boast  of  his 
righteousness  when  he  compared  himself  with  the  wicked  Gen- 
tiles about  hirn  (i).     I  welcome  the  appeal  to  Abraham's  case, 
for  he  had  a  righteousness  earned  by  works  if  any  Jew  ever  did 
and  if  he  had  such  righteousness  he  might  indeed  well  boast  of 

125 


THE  hPfSVL£  TO  THE   ROMANS 


4.  What  then  shall  we  say  that  Abraham,  our  fore- 
father according  to  the  flesh,  hath  found? 

2.  For  if  Abraham  was  justified  by  works,  he  hath 
whereof  to  glory;  but  not  toward  God. 


it  as  he  compared  himself  with  his  ungodly  contemporaries,  for 
certainly  none  of  them  had  it  (2).  Of  course  he  could  not  boast 
as  he  faced  God  for  he  would  have  simply  succeeded  in  doing 
what  he  ought  to  have  done,  his  mere  duty.  I  am  well  content, 
as  I  said,  to  appeal  to  Abraham's  case,  for  what  does  the  Scripture 
represent  it  to  be?  It  represents  with  absolute  clearness  that 
Abraham  had  nothing  but  the  faith-righteousness  I  am  advocat- 
ing. The  statement  is  explicit:  "Abraham  had  faith  in  God  and 
his  faith  was  set  down  as  righteousness"  (3).  Now  as  I  have  said 
before,  a  man  cannot  boast  of  faith-righteousness,  for  it  is  some- 
thing that  becomes  his  solely  by  the  gracious  kindness  of  God. 
To  one  who  works  and  earns  righteousness  the  recognition  of  his 
righteousness  is  due  as  a  sort  of  just  wages,  and  is  no  expression 
of  gracious  kindness  (4).  It  is  when  one  does  not  earn  righteous- 
ness by  accumulated  deeds  of  obedience  but  simply  in  penitent 
faith  commits  himself  to  one  who  in  forgiving  love  pronounces 
penitent  wrong  doers  righteous,  that  such  language  is  used  as 
was  used  in  Genesis  to  describe  Abraham  (5)." 

1.  Abraham.  In  parts  of  the  Talmud  Abraham  stands  out  as 
a  model  of  righteousness.  He  was  the  only  righteous  man  of  his 
day  and  was  therefore  chosen  to  be  the  father  of  the  holy  people 
to  whom  God  planned  later  to  entrust  his  law.  (Weber,  Die 
LehrendesTalmud,p.25^.  Cf.  Sanday).  Our  forefather.  The 
objection  is  supposed  to  come  from  the  synagogue  or  from  the 
ultra-conservative  Christian  Jews,  and  Paul  as  a  Jew  of  course 
classes  himself  with  the  objector.  The  expression  does  not  imply 
that  the  readers  of  the  letter  were  Jews.  A  Frenchman  address- 
ing an  American  audience  might  speak  of  French  history  as  "our 
history."  In  that  case  in  using  the  pronoun  "we"  he  might  mean 
either  "we  French"  or  "we  who  are  present."  According  to  the 
flesh.  By  physical,  racial  descent  (cf.  1:3).  Modifies  "fore- 
father" according  to  the  punctuation  in  the  margin,  even  if  "has 
found"  be  not  omitted  as  in  some  ancient  authorities. 

2.  By  works.  See  note  on  3:  20.  The  principle  involved  in 
"works  of  law"  might  conceivably  prevail  even  before  the  Mosaic 
law  had  been  given.  Furthermore  Abraham  according  to  the 
Talmud  had  really  known  by  direct  revelation  what  the  law  was 
going  to  be  and  so  kept  it  himself  and  taught  it  to  his  descendants 

»  126 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


3.  For  what  saith  the  scripture?  And  Abraham 
believed  God,  and  it  was  reckoned  unto  him  for 
righteousness. 

4.  Now  to  him  that  worketh,  the  reward  is  not 
reckoned  as  of  grace,  but  as  of  debt. 

5.  But  to  him  that  worketh  not,  but  believeth  on 
him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is 
reckoned  for  righteousness. 


(Weber,  Die  Lehren  des  Talmud,  p.  255).     Not  toward  God.  See 
paraphrase. 

3.  The  Scripture.  Gen.  15:6.  Believed  God.  Abraham  is 
pictured  as  haying  a  vision  in  which  he  stood  before  the  face  of 
God,  talked  with  him,  and  was  promised  by  God  a  multitude  of 
descendants.  _  His  belief,  or  faith,  consisted  in  yielding  himself  in 
trustful  obedience  to  God  who  had  made  him  the  great  promise, 
so  that  God  called  him  "my  friend"  (Is.  41 :  8),  Such  direct  rela- 
tionship to  himself  satisfied  God's  desire  for  righteousness  in 
Abraham.  Paul  holds  that  this  believing  in  God  on  the  part  of 
righteous  Abraham  proves  that  believing  in  Jesus  is  the  only  way 
to  righteousness  now.  ^  He  assumes  that  believing  in  Jesus  is 
equivalent  to  believing  In  God.  This  is  because  Jesus  is  the  pres- 
ent manifestation  of  God.  God  has  "set  him  forth"  3:  25;  he  is 
the  "image  of  God"  (Col.  i:  15);  God  is  in  him  (H  Cor.  5:  19). 

4.  Reckoned.  "Recognized,"  as  in  3:28,  or  "set  down  in  an 
account  book"  (cf.  4:  8).  The  argument  does  not  rest  on  the  use 
of  the  word  "reckoned"  In  the  Genesis  passage,  as  if  that  word 
could  not  have  been  used  if  Abraham  had  possessed  righteousness 
by  works.  Theoretically  works  could  be  "reckoned"  righteous- 
ness as  well  as  faith.  The  argument  is  rather  that  Abraham  pre- 
sented no  works.  He  simply  stood  before  the  promising  God  in  a 
spirit  of  friendly  obedient  trust,  or  faith,  and  God  therefore  re- 
corded, or  listed,  him  in  his  book  of  life  as  righteous.  Levi  "has 
been  recorded  on  the  heavenly  tablets  as  a  friend  and  a  righteous 
man."     (Jubilees  30:  20). 

5.  Worketh  not.  An  expression  with  a  special,  technical 
meaning.  See  note  on  3 :  20.  Paul  never  holds  that  the  man  of 
faith  does  no  good  deeds.  In  the  ethical  portions  of  all  his 
epistles,  even  in  Galatians  which  contains  his  fiercest  polemic 
against  works,  he  insists  that  faith  must  issue  in  kindly  action. 
(Gal.  5:6,  19-24,  6:  10). 


127 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


6.  Even  as  David  also  pronounceth  blessing  upon 
the  man,  unto  whom  God  reckoneth  righteousness 
apart  from  works, 

7.  saying,  Blessed  are  they  whose  iniquities  are  for- 
given, and  whose  sins  are  covered. 

8.  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  will  not  reck- 
on sin. 


(2)  David  also  a  witness  for  righteousness  by  faith.     The  only 

blessedness  that  David  recognizes  is  the  blessedness  of  the 
forgiven  man,  that  is,  the  man  of  faith,  4:6-8. 

"Even  David,  as  well  as  Abraham,  knew  no  other  kind  of 
righteousness  than  faith-righteousness.  When  he  describes  God's 
'blessed  man'  he  does  not  describe  one  who  has  earned  God's 
approbation  by  flawless  deeds  (6).  He  describes  one  to  whom 
God  does  not  charge  up  sin,  because  he  has  been  forgiven,  that  is, 
the  man  whose  penitent  faith  has  been  pronounced  righteousness 
(7-8)." 

7.  Iniquities  are  forgiven.  From  Ps.  32:  1-2.  Paul  evidently 
regards  this  expression  as  equivalent  to,  or  at  least  as  involving, 
the  idea  of  faith  righteousness.     This  was  assumed  in  3 :  25-26. 

(3)  The  Jew  has  no  monopoly  of  faith  righteousness.     It  is 

useless  for  the  Jew  to  argue:  "Even  granted  that  faith- 
righteousness  is  the  only  kind  of  practicable  righteousness 
Jews  alone  have  a  right  to  possess  it, ' '  for  A  braham' s  faith 
was  pronounced  righteousness  before  he  became  a  Jew, 
while  lie  was  still,  so  to  speak,  a  Gentile,  4:  g-12. 
"I  know  you  will  admit  that  if  faith  righteousness  alone  was 
possible  for  Jews  as  illustrious  as  Abraham  and  David  certainly 
no  more  pretentious  kind  of  righteousness  will  be  possible  for 
ordinary  Jews.     But  I  have  often  found  the  men  of  the  synagogue 
maintaining  that  God  will  certainly  wish  to  show  his  chosen 
people  some  special  favor  and  therefore  he  will  grant  to  them 
alone  the  privilege  of  having  faith  accounted  righteousness.     Only 
the  circumcised  man,  they  say,  can  enjoy  this  privilege.     Let  us 
look  at  Abraham's  case  again  for  light  on  this  point  since  we  have 
already  recognized  his  case  to  be  clearly  one  of  faith  righteousness 
(9).     Was  Abraham's  faith  accounted  righteousness  before  or 
after  he  was  circumcised?     Before  he  was  circumcised,  while  he 
was  still,  so  to  speak,  a  Gentile  (10).     His  circumcision,  far  from 
being  something  necessarily  antecedent  to  faith  righteousness, 

128 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


4:11 


9.  Is  this  blessing  then  pronounced  upon  the  cir- 
cumcision, or  upon  the  uncircumcision  also?  for 
we  say,  To  Abraham  his  faith  was  reckoned  for 
righteousness. 

10.  How  then  was  it  reckoned?  when  he  was  in  cir- 
cumcision, or  in  uncircumcision?  Not  in  cir- 
cumcision, but  in  uncircumcision: 

11.  and  he  received  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal 
of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith  which  he  had 


was  really  something  that  followed  faith  and  served  as  a  sign  that 
faith  had  already  been  accepted  as  righteousness.  It  was  like  a 
seal  stamped  on  a  document  to  show  that  the  contents  of  the 
document  have  already  been  examined  by  a  competent  authority 
and  pronounced  satisfactory.  This  peculiar  proceeding  was 
intended  by  God  to  make  it  evident  that  Abraham  is  a  father  of 
all  uncircumcised  men  that  have  faith,  so  that  they  like  their 
father  may  have  faith  accounted  righteousness  (11).  The  pro- 
ceeding is  intended  by  God  also  to  show  that  Abraham  is  a  father 
of  such  circumcised  persons  only  as  imitate  the  faith  that  he 
exercised  before  he  was  circumcised  (12)." 

9.  This  blessing,  that  is  spoken  of  by  David  as  belonging  to 
the  faith  righteous  man.  Upon  the  circumcision.  It  is  evident 
from  Galatians  and  from  Acts  that  there  were  Christian  Jews 
who  believed  that  only  Jews  had  the  privilege  of  becoming  Chris- 
tians. They  reasoned  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  had  been  prom- 
ised to  the  Jews  and  if  any  others  wished  to  share  in  the  promise 
they  must  of  course  join  those  to  whom  the  promise  had  been 
made;  they  must  be  circumcised  and  so  become  Jews  (cf.  Acts 
15:  I,  5).  Such  antagonists  in  many  synagogues  had  doubtless 
called  Paul's  attention  at  this  point  in  his  staple  argument  to  the 
fact  that  Abraham,  David,  and  the  readers  of  David's  Psalms 
were  all  circumcised  men!  Paul's  answer  is  that  Abraham,  the 
original  type,  was  not  a  circumcised  man  when  his  faith  was 
reckoned  righteousness.  His  faith  was  reckoned  righteousness  in 
ch.  15  of  Genesis  while  not  until  later,  ch.  17,  is  the  account  of 
his  circumcision  found.  This  fact  must  have  had  great  weight 
with  those  accustomed  to  the  style  of  argument  that  prevailed  in 
synagogue  circles. 

II.  The  sign  of  circumcision.^  Circumcision  is  called  a  "sign" 
in  Gen.  17:  11.  Circumcision  instead  of  being  something  that 
9  129 


4112  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

while  he  was  in  uncircumcision :  that  he  might  be 
the  father  of  all  them  that  believe,  though  they 
be  in  uncircumcision,  that  righteousness  might  be 
reckoned  unto  them; 
12.  and  the  father  of  circumcision  to  them  who  not 
only  are  of  the  circumcision,  but  who  also  walk 
in  the  steps  of  that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham 
which  he  had  in  uncircumcision. 


conferred  advantage  was  simply  a  sign  that  advantage  had  al- 
ready been  conferred,  namely,  the  advantage  of  having  faith 
accounted  righteousness.  A  seal.  See  paraphrase.  That  he 
might  be.  God  purposely  had  his  circumcision  delayed  until  after 
he  had  been  pronounced  righteous  by  faith.  The  father.  "A 
father:"  a  spiritual  ancestor. 

12.  The  father  of  circumcision.     "A  father  of  circumcision," 
that  is,  "a  circumcised  father." 

(4)   The  Jew  may  no  longer  continue  to  anticipate  having  a 
monopoly  of  the  earth.     It  is  the  faith-righteous  men  of 
all  nations  that  are  to  possess  the  earth.     God's  promise 
of  the  earth  to  Abraham  and  his  descendants  was  made  in 
view  of  Abraham' s  faith-righteousness — not  in  view  of  his 
law-keeping — and  the  promise  was  so  worded  as  to  make 
it  evident  that  God  expected  faith-righteous  men  of  many 
nations  to  be  included  among  those  who,  as  Abraham' s 
seed,  would  inherit  the  earth,  4: 13-22. 
"Another  reason  for  obligatory  attachment  to  the  Mosaic  law 
commonly  alleged  by  the  men  of  the  synagogue  disappears  when 
we  examine  the  righteousness  of  Abraham.     They  look  forward 
eagerly  to  the  day  when  the  Jewish  nation,  if  faithfully  obedient 
to  the  law  of  Moses,  will  be  made  by  God  the  supreme  world 
power.     But  this  promise  of  world  supremacy  for  the  seed  of 
Abraham  was  not  made  to  him  in  connection  with  any  devotion 
of  himself  to  the  law,  but  in  connection  with  that  faith  in  God 
which  God  declared  to  be  righteousness  (13).     If  world  supremacy 
really  belongs  to  law-keeping  Jews  only,  as  the  synagogue  holds, 
then  Abraham's  faith  accomplished  nothing  and  the  promise  of 
world  supremacy  which  God  made  to  him  in  connection  with  his 
faith  was  meaningless  (14)!     In  the  nature  of  the  case  law  cannot 
secure  any  such  magnificent  result  for  law  simply  incites  the  sin- 
ful disposition  in  men  to  express  itself  in  open  transgression  and 

130 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  4:13 

13.  For  not  through  the  law  was  the  promise  to 
Abraham  or  to  his  seed,  that  he  should  be  heir 
of  the  world,  but  through  the  righteousness  of 
faith. 


so  necessitates  a  thorough  expression  of  God's  wrath.  Such  open 
transgression  does  not  occur  where  there  is  no  definite  law  to 
transgress  (15).  Since  law  leads  to  wrath  God  conditioned  his 
promise  of  world  supremacy  on  faith,  because  he  really  wished  to 
act  not  wrathfully,  but  with  generous  kindness  and  to  base  his 
promise  on  a  condition  that  would  make  it  possible  to  include  a 
great  multitude  in  its  fulfillment,  not  men  of  the  one  nation  that 
possessed  the  Mosaic  law,  but  men  of  all  nations  who  have  faith. 
He  wished  to  have  Abraham  the  father  of  all  of  us  faithful  Chris- 
tians whatever  be  our  nationality  (16).  The  very  wording  of  the 
promise  makes  this  clear.  The  promise  reads:  "A  father  of 
many  nations  have  I  made  thee."  It  was  God,  making  such  a 
promise,  before  whose  face  Abraham  stood  in  trustful  confident 
faith,  a  God  who  gives  life  to  the  dead, — to  these  aged  parents 
and  to  our  Lord  Jesus  as  well — and  who  speaks  with  conviction 
of  things  which  to  human  eyes  have  no  existence  (17).  Abraham 
standing  before  God  hopefully  believed  that  of  which  there  seemed 
to  be  no  hope,  namely,  that  he  was  to  become  a  father  of  many 
nations,  as  God  assured  him  when  he  showed  him  the  stars  of 
heaven  and  told  him  his  descendants  should  be  as  many  (18). 
His  faith  was  so  strong  that  it  was  not  shaken  by  consciousness  of 
the  childless  old  age  of  himself  and  his  wife  (19).  Indeed,  as  he 
faced  the  promise  of  God  the  difficulty  rather  strengthened  his 
faith  and  he  glorified  God  by  his  bold  trust  (20)  and  confident 
conviction  that  God  was  able  to  do  the  difficult  thing  he  had 
promised  (21).  And  so,  as  I  said  before,  this  obedient  confidence 
in  God  won  from  God  the  declaration  of  Abraham's  righteous- 
ness (22)." 

13.  For.  "We  should  not  rely  on  law  for"  etc.  Heir  of  the 
world.  The  Jews  expected  to  be  the  sole  proprietors  of  the  earth. 
The  Kingdom  of  God,  which  they  conceived  to  be  a  kingdom  of 
righteous  law-keeping  Jews  under  the  rule  of  God's  Messiah, 
would  one  day  fill  the  earth.  Such  other  nations  as  objected  to 
this  arrangement  would  be  destroyed.  Those  that  acquiesced 
in  it  might  become  full  Jewish  proselytes  or  be  annexed  to  the 
Jewish  world-kingdom  in  some  tributary  relationship.  The  17th 
Psalm  in  the  Psalms  of  Solomon,  written  in  the  first  century 
B.C.,  gives  such  a  picture,  also  Isaiah  60.     There  is  no  record 

131 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


14.  For  if  they  which  are  of  the  law  be  heirs,  faith  is 
made  void,  and  the  promise  is  made  of  none 
effect : 

15.  for  the  law  worketh  wrath;  but  where  there  is  no 
law,  neither  is  there  transgression. 

16.  For  this  cause  it  is  of  faith,  that  it  may  be  ac- 
cording to  grace ;  to  the  end  that  the  promise  may 


that  the  earth  was  distinctly  promised  to  Abraham.  The  land 
in  which  he  sojourned  was  promised  to  him  (Gen.  12:  7,  13:  14- 
18,  15:  7-8,  17:  8,  etc.).  He  was  also  promised  seed  numerous  as 
the  stars  (Gen.  15:  5)  or  the  dust  of  the  earth  (Gen.  13:  16)  and  it 
was  said  that  he  would  be  a  blessing  to  all  the  earth  (Gen.  12:  3). 
These  promises,  taken  in  connection  with  current  ideas  of  the 
world-wide  Kingdom  of  God,  easily  led  to  the  common  assump- 
tion that  God  had  promised  the  earth  to  Abraham  for  his  seed. 
The  Jews  thought  that  this  messianic  world  dominion  would  be 
hastened  through  law  keeping.  "If  Israel  would  only  keep 
two  Sabbaths  as  they  ought  to  be  kept  the  redemption 
would  immediately  come."  (Weber,  Die  Lehren  des  Talmud, 
p.  334).  Paul  having  established  the  fact  that  Abraham's  righteous- 
ness consisted  in  faith,  and  not  in  obedience  to  the  law,  is  now  able 
to  assert  that  God's  promise  of  the  earth  had  no  connection  with 
Abraham's  law  keeping.  It  was  not  "through  law."  For. 
Introduces  another  reason  in  addition  to  v.  13  for  not  relying 
upon  law. 

14.  Faith  is  made  void.  If  law  keepers  get  the  earth,  the  faith 
of  the  faith  people  brings  no  advantage.  The  promise  of  God 
which  gave  them  the  earth  turns  out  to  be  worthless. 

15.  For.  Still  another  objection  to  the  attempt  to  get  advan- 
tage through  law:  law  simply  stirs  up  the  sinful  disposition  and 
results  in  overt  transgression.  Thorough-going  sin  which  expresses 
itself  in  flagrantly  disobedient  action  produces  a  thorough  develop- 
ment of  wrath.  The  verb  in  Greek  is  a  compound  emphasizing 
completeness.  Paul  does  not  say  that  there  is  no  sin  where 
there  is  no  law.  In  the  rush  of  his  thought  Paul  makes  allusions 
on  the  side,  which  raise  questions  that  the  modern  reader  would 
be  glad  to  hear  him  discuss  at  length.  Perhaps  there  were  ideas 
current  among  the  original  readers  that  made  these  allusions 
entirely  intelligible. 

16.  For  this  cause.  The  cause  stated  in  v.  15,  namely,  that 
the  law  works  wrath.     It  is  of  faith.     The  promise  of  the  earth 

132 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  4:17 

be  sure  to  all  the  seed;  not  to  that  only  which  is 
of  the  law,  but  to  that  also  which  is  of  the  faith 
of  Abraham,  who  is  the  father  of  us  all 
17.  (as  it  is  written,  A  father  of  many  nations  have  I 
made  thee)  before  him  whom  he  believed,  even 
God,  who  quickeneth  the  dead,  and  calleth  the 
things  that  are  not,  as  though  they  were. 

is  made  to  men  of  faith-righteousness,  that  it  may  be  possible  for 
God  to  act  kindly  and  not  be  obliged  to  exhibit  wrath  as  would  be 
the  case  if  men  were  shut  up  to  law  alone.  To  the  end  that  the 
promise  may  be  sure  to  all  the  seed.  God  who  likes  to  act 
generously — according  to  grace — wishes  the  promise  to_  include 
as  many  as  possible  and  so  conditions  it  upon  faith,  which  any- 
one, whether  a  Jew  brought  up  under  the  law  or  a  Gentile,  may 
have.  The  man  of  the  synagogue  might  have  replied  that  the 
whole  Gentile  world  could  become  law-keeping  Jewish  proselytes 
and  so  as  great  a  multitude  could  inherit  the  promise  under  law 
as  through  faith.  In  reply  to  this  Paul  says  two  things:  (i)  In 
the  nature  of  the  case  the  attempt  at  sheer  law  keeping  will  result 
only  in  disobedience  and  consequent  wrath  (v.  15).  (2)  The 
very  wording  of  the  promise  shows  that  God  did  not  propose  to 
have  all  inheritors  of  the  promise  become  Jews  for  he  specifically 
describes  them  as  consisting  of  many  nations  (v.  17,  cf.  Gen.  17: 
5).  17.  Before  him  whom  he  believed.  The  entire  sentence  seems 
awkwardly  constructed.  What  interruptions  Paul  suffered  while 
dictating  we  do  not  know.  Neither  do  we  know  the  limitations 
of  his  amanuensis!  Some  of  the  slips  of  his  amanuensis  may  have 
escaped  Paul's  notice  when  he  reviewed  the  work.  "Him"  is  not 
in  the  Greek.  The  antecedent  of  the  relative  pronoun  "whom" 
is  virtually  found  in  the  "I"  of  the  quotation  that  has  just  pre- 
ceded, namely,  God,  "a  God  who  gives  life  to  the  dead."  The 
parenthesis  introduced  (R.  V.)  might  be  omitted.  Paul  sees 
Abraham  standing  face  to  face  with  God  as  the  Genesis  narrative 
represents:  "The  faith  of  Abraham  who  is  the  father  of  us  all^  as 
it  is  written:  'Father  of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee,'  standing 
before  whom  (God)  he  (Abraham)  believed — a  God  who  makes 
the  dead  to  live  and  calls  the  things  that  (to  our  vision)  are  not 
as  things  that  (really)  are."  Quickeneth  the  dead.  Cf.  v.  19. 
All  readers  would  instantly  think  also  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus. 
Things  that  are  not.  The  unborn  and  apparently  impossible 
descendants. 

133 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


1 8.  Who  in  hope  believed  against  hope,  to  the  end 
that  he  might  become  a  father  of  many  nations, 
according  to  that  which  had  been  spoken,  So 
shall  thy  seed  be. 

19.  And  without  being  weakened  in  faith  he  con- 
sidered his  own  body  now  as  good  as  dead  (he 
being  about  a  hundred  years  old),  and  the  dead- 
ness  of  Sarah's  womb: 

20.  yea,  looking  unto  the  promise  of  God,  he  wavered 
not  through  unbelief,  but  waxed  strong  through 
faith,  giving  glory  to  God, 

21.  and  being  fully  assured  that,  what  he  had  prom- 
ised, he  was  able  also  to  perform. 

22.  Wherefore  also  it  was  reckoned  unto  him  for 
righteousness. 

18.  Believed  against  hope.  Or  "beyond"  what  appeared  pos- 
sible. To  the  end  that  he  might  become.  Or  "believed  in  his 
becoming  a  father,"  that  is,  believed  that  he  should  become  a 
father.  (Cf.  for  grammatical  construction  Jn.  12:  36).  So  shall 
thy  seed  be.     Many  as  the  stars  (Gen.  15:  5). 

19.  Some  MSS.  insert  a  negative  before  the  verb  without  chang- 
ing the  sense:  "Because  he  was  not  weak  in  faith  he  did  not  con- 
sider his  own  body." 

20.  Giving  glory  to  God.  Glorifying  God  by  believing  in  his 
truthfulness  and  power. 

22.  This  faith,  or  belief ,  which  accepted  God  as  what  he  repre- 
sented himself  to  be  and  treated  him  accordingly  won  for  Abra- 
ham God's  declaration  of  his  righteousness.  It  made  everything 
right  between  God  and  Abraham. 

(5)   The  significance  of  the  record  of  Abraham's  faith.     The 
story  of  Abraham' s  faith  righteousness  was  put  on  record 
in  scripture  to  prove  to  us  that  we  could  all  have  the  same 
kind  of  righteousness  and  no  other,  4:  23-25. 
"The  story  of  Abraham's  faith  being  accounted  righteousness 
was  not  put  on  record  simply  to  keep  Abraham  in  honorable 
remembrance  (23)  but  to  encourage  us  whose  faith  will   be  ac- 
counted righteousness  when  we  have  faith  in  the  God  who  raised 

134 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  5:1 

23.  Now  it  was  not  written  for  his  sake  alone,  that  it 
was  reckoned  unto  him; 

24.  but  for  our  sake  also,  unto  whom  it  shall  be 
reckoned,  who  believe  on  him  that  raised  Jesus 
our  Lord  from  the  dead, 

25.  who  was  delivered  up  for  our  trespasses,  and  was 
raised  for  our  justification. 

5.  The  new  race  in  the  New  Age.  Faith  righteous 
men  may  look  forward  with  peaceful  confidence  to 
the  salvation  of  the  Coming  Age,  to  the  new  humanity 
introduced  by  Jesus  Christ,  righteous  and  death- 

our  Lord  Jesus  from  the  dead,  as  he  raised  Isaac  from  the  dead 
old  age  of  his  parents  (24) — the  Lord  Jesus  who  was  delivered  to 
death  because  of  our  transgressions  and  was  raised  again  to  be 
the  living  object  of  our  faith  and  so  to  make  our  faith  righteous- 
ness possible  (25)." 

24.  Believe  on  him  that  raised  Jesus.  Often  Paul  speaks  of 
Jesus  himself  as  the  object  of  faith.  (Gal.  2:  16).  Since  Jesus 
is  the  revelation  of  God  there  is  to  Paul's  mind  no  essential  differ- 
ence between  believing  in  God  and  believing  in  Jesus.  See  note 
on  4:  3. 

25.  Who  was  delivered  up  for  our  trespasses.  Because  of  our 
trespasses.  Suggests  the  LXX  Is.  53:  6  "And  the  Lord  delivered 
him  (the  servant  of  Jehovah)  for  our  sins."  (Cf.  also  Is.  53:  12). 
It  was  our  sins  that  necessitated  God's  revelation  of  himself  in 
the  death  of  Christ  whom  he  "set  forth  in  blood"  (3:  25).  If  we 
had  not  sinned  God  would  have  had  no  such  experience  as  that 
revealed  by  the  death  suffering  of  Jesus.  Raised  for  our  justifi- 
cation. To  secure  our  being  pronounced  righteous.  Since  we 
are  pronounced  righteous  in  view  of  our  commitment  of  ourselves 
in  faith  to  Jesus  Christ,  if  he  had  not  been  raised  from  the  dead 
there  could  be  no  faith.  It  is  only  to  a  living  Lord  that  men  can 
commit  themselves  in  faith.  If  Jesus  at  death  had  gone  where 
other  dead  Jews  go,  and  had  stayed  there,  he  would  not  be  acces- 
sible to  living  men  as  an  object  of  faith.  God  himself  in  that  case 
would  also  be  discredited  as  an  object  of  faith  for  he  had  identi- 
fied himself  with  Jesus.  He  had  rested  the  whole  messianic  en- 
terprise on  Jesus. 

135 


5: 1  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

less  through  all  its  extent  regardless  of  previous  na- 
tionality,  as  the  old  humanity  introduced  hy  Adam 
was  sinful  and  mortal  in  all  its  extent,  Ch.  5. 

(i)  The  love  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  the  sure  ground  of  enthus- 
iasm for  the  Coming  Age.  Such  love  of  God  for  men  as 
has  secured  our  reconciliation  through  Jesus  Christ's 
death  we  can  joyfully  depend  on  fo  do  even  more  for  us 
through  Jesus  Christ's  resurrection  life  and  to  carry  us  on 
into  the  salvation  of  the  Coming  Age,  5;  j-ii. 
"It  is  because  we  have  been  pronounced  righteous  in  view  of 
our  faith,  as  I  have  been  showing,  that  we  look  up  to  God  with 
profound  contentment  in  the  daily  life  of  fellowship  with  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  (i),  through  whose  activity  also  we  were  originally 
introduced  into  this  place  where  we  continually  experience  the 
beautiful  kindness  of  God.  We  not  only  have  present  content- 
ment but  we  are  able  thankfully  to  exult  in  the  confident  hope  of 
sharing  the  pure  and  radiant  life  of  God's  heavenly  world  in  the 
New  Age  (2).  Not  only  do  we  exult  in  this  prospect  but  we  even 
exult  in  our  many  present  hardships  for  they  develop  in  us  endur- 
ance; endurance  wins  for  us  God's  approval,  and  when  a  man  has 
won  God's  approval  he  has  the  right  to  cherish  a  great  hope  of 
what  God  will  do  for  him  in  the  future  (3).  He  will  never  experi- 
ence the  chagrin  of  finding  the  radiant  heavenly  life  for  which  he 
hoped  withheld  from  him  by  God,  because  his  hope  rests  on  God's 
love  for  him,  a  present  sense  of  which  is  poured  through  his  very 
heart  like  a  refreshing  stream  by  the  Holy  Spirit  whom  God  has 
given  to  be  with  us,  a  messenger  from  that  heavenly  spirit  world 
of  glory  (5).  The  love  of  God  on  which  his  hope  rests  will  cer- 
tainly not  fail,  since  it  has  already  been  put  to  the  utmost  test. 
When  we  were  most  unattractive,  weak  and  wicked,  God's  own 
Christ  died  for  us  in  the  time  appointed  by  God's  careful  provi- 
dence (6).  What  love  this  was!  It  is  almost  impossible  to  think 
of  any  one  being  willing  to  die  for  a  righteous  man, — possibly 
you  might  find  a  man  ready  to  die  for  his  benefactor — but  God 
has  proved  the  greatness  of  his  love  for  us  by  having  his  Christ 
die  for  us  when  we  were  neither  righteous  nor  his  benefactors,  but 
outright  hostile  sinners  (8) !  Now  surely,  when  we  are  no  longer 
hostile  sinners  but  have  been  pronounced  righteous  at  the  cost  of 
the  bloody  death  which  told  us  of  God's  love,  we  shall  appear 
more  attractive  to  him;  we  shall  certainly  survive  the  judgment 
day  and  be  introduced  into  the  heavenly  glory  for  which  we  have 
hoped  (9).  Or  to  put  the  thought  in  another  way:  if  while  we 
were  hostile  to  God  he  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  the  loving 

136 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


5.  Being  therefore  justified  by  faith,  let  us  have 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ; 

2.  through  whom  also  we  have  had  our  access  by 
faith  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand;  and  let  us 
rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God. 

3.  And  not  only  so,  but  let  us  also  rejoice  in  our 
tribulations:  knowing  that  tribulation  worketh 
patience ; 

4.  and   patience,    probation;   and   probation,    hope: 


death  of  his  Son,  how  certain  it  is  that  he  will  not  fail  us  after  the 
reconciliation,  and  that  he  who  did  so  much  for  us  by  death  will 
be  able  to  do  still  more  by  his  resurrection  life  (10).  And  we  are 
not  barely  saved  or  reconciled,  simply  let  off  from  punishment, 
but  we  are  able  to  worship  God  with  enthusiastic  jubilation  in  the 
daily  approach  to  him  which  is  possible  because  of  our  fellowship 
with  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  through  whom,  as  I  must  keep  saying 
in  grateful  repetition,  we  were  reconciled  by  God  to  himself  (11)." 

1.  Therefore.  Gathers  up  the  whole  argument  from  3:21  on, 
but  refers  particularly  to  the  word  justification  in  the  summary 
statement  just  made  (4:  25).  Let  us  have.  There  is  better  manu- 
script authority  for  "Let  us  have,"  than  for  "we  have":  but  the 
two  Greek  letters  involved  in  the  change  are  so  often  interchanged 
that  manuscript  authority  does  not  count  as  heavily  in  this  case 
as  usual.  (See  Denney,  E.  G.  T.).  "We  have"  fits  the  thought 
of  the  context  rather  better.  Through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  might  refer  to  what  our  Lord  did  for  us  by  his  bloody  death 
but  since  v.  2  seems  to  refer  to  that  as  a  new  thought,  reference 
is  probably  made  in  v.  i  to  our  daily  faith-fellowship  with  Jesus 
Christ  in  which  we  find  a  deeply  contented  outlook  toward  God. 

2.  We  have  had.  Greek  perfect  tense  "Had  and  still  hold." 
Access,  or  introduction.  Into  this  grace — into  this  continuous 
experience  of  God's  beautiful  gladdening  kindness  expressed  in 
many  ways  but  especially,  in  this  connection,  his  forgiveness. 
The  glory  of  God.  See  note  on  2:7.  Rejoice.  Better,  mar- 
ginal reading  "glory,"  adds  the  idea  of  active  expectation  to  the 
tranquility  expressed  in  v.  i. 

3.  Tribulations — patience.  The  word  tribulation  was  some 
thing  more  to  Paul  than  an  expression  of  stereotyped  relig- 
ious phraseology!  Cf.  H  Cor.  11 :  23-29.  He  found  in  himself  a 
growing  fixity  of  purpose. 

137 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


5.  and  hope  putteth  not  to  shame;  because  the  love 
of  God  hath  been  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts 
through  the  Holy  Ghost  which  was  given  unto  us. 

6.  For  while  we  were  yet  weak,  in  due  season  Christ 
died  for  the  ungodly. 

7.  For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die:  for 
peradventure  for  the  good  man  some  one  would 
even  dare  to  die. 

8.  But  God  commendeth  his  own  love  toward  us, 
in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for 
us. 

9.  Much  more  then,  being  now  justified  by  his  blood, 

5.  The  love  of  God.  God's  love  for  us  (cf.v  8).  Shed  abroad. 
Poured  out.  Cf.  Is.  44:3.  The  Holy  Spirit.  Mentioned  here 
for  the  first  time  in  Romans.  See  note  on  8:  9.  The  reason  for 
mentioning  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  connection  is  the  fact  that  his 
presence  is  the  first  instalment  and  pledge  of  that  life  in  the  spirit 
world,  that  "glory  of  God"  (v.  2),  to  which  we  so  confidently  look 
forward  (cf.  8:  23). 

6.  Weak.  Morally  weak,  under  the  dominance  of  the  "flesh" 
which  Paul  will  discuss  in  chs.  7-8.  Due  season.  At  the  proper 
juncture  in  the  great  drama  of  humanity  which  Paul  will  picture 
in  vs.  12-21  (cf.  Gal.  4:4). 

7.  The  good  man.  Better  "the  benefactor"  (cf.  Matt.  20:  15), 
that  is,  his  benefactor. 

8.  God  commendeth  his  own  love — Christ  died  for  us.  Christ's 
death  was  an  expression  of  the  love  of  God.  Jesus'  distress  of 
soul  over  sin,  which  was  the  dominant  element  in  his  mortal 
suffering  and  which  sprang  from  his  love  for  men,  was  an  expres- 
sion of  God's  feeling  toward  his  sinning  children.  The  most 
fundamental  and  vital  thing  that  a  father  can  do  to  lead  a  son 
whom  he  loves  to  abandon  sin,  is  to  show  him  his  own  feeling 
about  the  hated  sin.  This  God  did  when  we  were  not  "righteous" 
and  much  less  his  "benefactors,"  but  plain  "sinners" — the  word 
by  which  the  Jew  in  contempt  described  the  abhorrent  Gentile 
world  (Gal.  2:  15).     God  loved  "sinners!" 

9.  Justified  by  his  blood.  Pronounced  righteous  in,  or  by 
means  of,  his  blood.  The  love  of  God  which  expressed  itself  in 
the  bloody  death  of  Jesus  (v.  8)  was  what  brought  us  to  God  in 
faith  and  so  resulted  in  the  reconcilation,  the  acquittal,  or  pro- 

138 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


shall  we  be  saved  from  the  wrath  of  God  through 
him. 

10.  For  if,  while  we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled 
to  God  through  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more, 
being  reconciled,  shall  we  be  saved  by  his  life; 

1 1 .  and  not  only  so,  but  we  also  rejoice  in  God  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom  we  have 
now  received  the  reconciliation. 

nouncement  of  righteousness.  Shall  we  be  saved  in  the  messianic 
judgment  and  guaranteed  glorious  existence  in  the  New  Age,  the 
"glory  of  God"  for  which  we  hope  (v.  2).  The  wrath — somewhat 
technical  term  for  the  judgment. 

10.  Twofold  reason  for  confident  hope:  more  can  be  done  for 
friends  than  for  enemies,  and  more  by  life  than  by  death.  Ene- 
mies. The  Greek  word  may  mean  either  "disHked  by"  (cf. 
II :  28)  or  "disliking."  It  is  not  important  to  decide  between  the 
two  meanings.  Men  disliked  God  and  as  a  consequence  God's 
disapproval  rested  upon  them  though  he  always  loved  them 
(v.  8).  We  were  reconciled.  Men  are  reconciled  (cf.  II  Cor.  5: 18, 
19,  20;  Col.  1:20,  21;  Eph.  2:  16).  But  Paul  teaches  that  in  the 
process  of  reconciliation  man  in  faith  lays  aside  his  disobedient 
dislike  of  God,  and  God's  righteous  loving  (v.  8)  disapproval  be- 
comes a  loving  approval,  so  that  both  men  and  God  act  in  the 
process.  His  life.  His  present  resurrection  life  in  glory  and 
power,  not  the  life  he  lived  before  his  death. 

11.  Not  only  so  but  we  also  rejoice.  We  are  not  barely  recon- 
ciled, and  let  off  from  expectation  of  punishment  in  the  messianic 
judgment,  but  we  find  ourselves  in  a  present  relationship  to  God 
that  fills  us  with  exultation.  Through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  through,  that  is  in  fellowship  with,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
that  we  bring  our  exultant  worship  to  God.  Cf.  note  on  1:8. 
Through  whom — the  reconciliation.  It  was  wh^t  God  did  through 
Jesus'  death  that  secured  the  reconciliation.     See  note  on  v.  10. 

(2)  The  old  race  of  Adam  and  the  new  race  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Just  as  the  one  individual,  Adam,  through  his  sin  intro- 
duced a  race  sinful  and  death-smitten  in  all  its  parts 
Jewish  as  well  as  Gentile,  so  the  one  individual,  Jesus 
Christ,  through  his  obedient  life  and  death  introduces  a 
race  righteous  and  immortal  in  all  its  parts,  5;  12-21. 
"We  have  pictured  the  whole  human  race  in  sin  and  in  its  midst 
Jesus  Christ  set  forth  by  God  to  bring  a  believing  race  of  recon- 

139 


j2  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

ciled  men  into  the  glorious  life  of  the  New  Age.  Stop  to  note  with 
reverent  joy  a  wonderful  parallel  and  its  revelation  of  the  grace 
of  God.  As  through  one  man,  Adam,  sin  broke  into  the  world, 
brought  with  it  death  and  so  death  became  the  fate  of  all  men, 
since  Adam's  sin  of  course  involved  the  subsequent  sinning  of  all 
his  descendants  (12), — I  say  all  his  descendants,  even  those  who 
lived  before  the  time  of  Moses  and  his  law,  a  period  in  which  you 
might  perhaps  not  expect  to  find  sin,  since  sins  cannot  well  be 
charged  up  against  a  man  in  the  great  book  when  there  are  no 
specific  commandments  to  disobey  (13).  Yet  even  in  this  period, 
we  know  that  all  the  sons  of  Adam  sinned,  because  they  all  experi- 
enced death,  the  consequence  of  sin — even  though  they  did  not 
sin  against  a  specific  commandment  of  God  as  did  Adam  in  the 
garden — Adam  who,  in  his  origination  of  a  race,  was,  as  I  started 
to  say,  a  prototype  of  the  Christ  who  in  due  time  was  also  to 
found  a  race  (14).  But  these  two  race-founders  were  very  unlike. 
The  privilege  of  having  faith  accounted  righteousness,  which  is 
God's  gift  to  us  in  Christ  Jesus,  is  certainly  very  unlike  Adam's 
fateful  trespass  in  the  garden.  In  God's  world  you  would  expect 
to  find  the  forces  of  good  working  more  fruitfully  than  the  forces 
of  evil.  It  has  been  even  so  in  this  case.  Because  of  that  tres- 
pass of  the  one  man  the  whole  multitude  of  his  descendants  died; 
but  the  loving  kindness  of  the  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
privilege  of  having  faith  accounted  righteousness,  which  was 
God's  gracious  gift  brought  to  us  by  his  loving  kindness,  is  ex- 
perienced in  divine  abundance  by  the  whole  multitude  of  the  new 
race  that  will  call  him  Lord  (15).  In  another  point  too,  the  divine 
gift  through  the  one  man,  Christ,  brought  consequences  utterly 
unlike  those  that  followed  the  one  man's  sinning.  A  sentence  of 
doom  followed  the  one  man's  sinning,  but,  in  the  other  case,  al- 
though there  had  been  many  trespasses,  forgiveness  came  as  a 
free  gift  through  the  one  man  (16).  This  gives  us  our  great  hope, 
for  if  as  a  result  of  one  man's  trespass  a  reign  of  death  was  inau- 
gurated, much  more  may  those  who  have  experienced  God's  beau- 
tiful abounding  kindness  in  the  free  gift  of  forgiveness  to  the  men 
of  faith  confidently  expect  a  reign  of  life  in  which  they  them- 
selves shall  be  rulers,  as  a  result  of  what  has  been  done  for  them 
by  the  one,  Jesus  Christ  (17).  So  then,  as  I  began  to  say  above, 
just  as  through  one  trespass  in  the  garden  there  came  for  all  men 
an  era  of  condemnation  to  death,  so  through  one  righteous  act  of 
obedience  on  the  cross  there  came  to  all  men  an  era  of  forgiving 
acquittal  that  brings  life  (18).  For  as  one  man's  disobedience 
resulted  in  the  whole  multitude  of  men  becoming  sinners,  so  one 
man's  obedience  will  produce  a  righteous  humanity  in  the  New 
Age  (19).  Into  this  situation  in  which  all  men  were  sinning  the 
Mosaic  law  came  incidentally  as  an  additional  factor,  not  to  cure 

140 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


12.  Therefore,  as  through  one  man  sin  entered  into 


the  calamitous  situation,  as  the  synagogue  holds,  but  on  the  con- 
trary to  make  the  sinful  disposition  express  itself  in  more  abund- 
ant overt  acts  of  transgression.  However,  this  was  not  meant  to 
be  victory  for  Sin,  because  where  man's  sin  abounded  God's  loving 
kindness  super-abounded,  where  sin  rose  high,  God's  love  rose 
higher  (20),  in  order  that  just  as  Sin  had  exercised  a  universal 
dominion  that  produced  a  death-smitten  humanity,  so  love  might 
exercise  a  universal  dominion  that  produces  such  faith-righteous- 
ness as  leads  to  endless  life  in  the  New  Age,  an  everlasting  dom- 
inion established  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  (21)." 

12,  Therefore.  Connects  the  following  paragraph  with  the 
preceding.  Vs.  i-ii  have  been  filled  with  the  exultant  hope  of 
the  New  Age  and  its  salvation,  cherished  by  those  whose  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ  has  brought  them  God's  righteousness.  Out  of  this 
springs  the  second  paragraph  (vs.  12-21)  which  has  been  called 
"Paul's  hymn  of  praise  to  Jesus  Christ."  It  is  a  Christian  rabbi's 
hymn  with  rabbinic  emphasis  of  Adam,  Moses,  the  Law  and  the 
Two  Ages.  It  contrasts  the  present  age  of  flesh,  sin  and  death, 
dominated  by  its  founder,  the  sinful  Adam,  and  the  Coming  Age 
of  spirit,  righteousness  and  eternal  life,  dominated  by  its  righteous 
founder,  Jesus  Christ.  It  should  be  recognized  that  Paul's  view 
of  Adam  has  no  vital  connection  v/ith  the  fundamental  features 
of  his  religious  thought.  His  fundamental  position  is  that  all 
men  are  sinners  and  that  there  is  a  way  of  escape  from  sin  in 
Jesus  Christ.  His  theory  regarding  the  way  in  which  it  came  to 
pass  that  all  men  sin  is  logically  a  wholly  minor  matter.  As. 
The  comparison  begins  as  if  it  were  to  be  a  statement  of  similarity, 
but  the  only  point  of  similarity  turns  out  to  be  the  fact  that  in 
each  case  it  is  one  individual  whose  action  produces  momentous 
consequences.  The  contrast  is  between  the  different  character 
of  the  actions  and  the  consequences  in  each  case.  Grammatically, 
the  structure  of  the  paragraph  is  broken.  The  first  member  of 
the  comparison  introduced  by  "as"  (v.  12)  is  not  followed  by  any 
second  member  introduced  by  the  correlative  "so."  Instead  a 
parenthetical  explanation  of  a  certain  point  is  introduced  (vs. 
13-14).  The  last  clause  of  v.  14  shows  what  the  second  member 
of  the  comparison  was  to  have  been,  and  then  in  vs.  15-17  certain 
points  of  contrast  are  stated.  V.  18*  takes  up  again  the  com- 
parison that  was  dropped  in  v.  13,  restates  the  first  member  as  it 
was  presented  in  v.  12,  and  at  once  in  v.  18^  gives  the  second 
member.  V.  19  repeats  the  comparison  in  another  form  and  vs. 
20-21  conclude  with  the  picture  of  the  abounding  grace  of  God 
reigning  forevermore  in  righteousness  over  the  new  humanity 

141 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


the  world,  and  death  through  sin;  and  so  death 
passed  unto  all  men,  for  that  all  sinned : — 


through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Through  one  man  sm  entered 
into  the  world.  Paul  has  in  mind  the  story  found  in  Gen.  3,  and 
the  frequent  discussions  of  it  in  the  rabbinical  schools  where  he 
received  his  religious  education.  And  so  death  passed  unto  all 
men.  The  death  of  all  men  is  attributed  by  Paul  to  the  sin  of 
Adam.  That  his  use  of  the  word  includes  physical  death  is 
evident  from  v.  14,  but  the  meaning  of  the  word  is  not  limited  to 
physical  death.  See  note  on  8:6.  For  that  all  sinned.  This 
might  mean  that  each  man  sinned  for  himself  when  his  turn  to 
live  came;  or  it  might  mean  that  the  act  of  Adam  so  involved  all 
of  his  descendants  that  they  all  sinned  in  his  sin.  That  such 
reasoning  was  possible,  in  certain  circles,  at  least,  is  evident  from 
Heb.  7:  9-10.  The  fact  that  Paul  speaks  of  all  men  as  dying  in 
Adam  (I  Cor.  15:  22)  indicates  that  he  means  here  to  say  that  all 
men  in  some  sense  sinned  in  Adam's  sin.  The  whole  race  to  be 
was  there.  If  this  is  what  he  means  here,  he  also  held  that  all 
men  also  sinned  each  for  himself  in  his  own  lifetime,  for  this  has 
been  the  argument  of  i:  18-3:20.  This  same  double  view  ap- 
pears elsewhere  in  first  century  Jewish  literature. 

"For  though  Adam  first  sinned  and  brought  untimely  death 
upon  all,  yet  of  those  who  were  born  from  him  each  one  of  them 
has  prepared  for  his  own  soul  torment  to  come,  and  again  each 
one  of  them  has  chosen  for  himself  glories  to  come."  "Adam  is, 
therefore,  not  the  cause  save  only  of  his  own  soul,  but  each  of  us 
has  been  the  Adam  of  his  own  soul."  {Apoc.  Baruch,  54:  15,  19). 
"O  thou  Adam,  what  hast  thou  done!  For  though  it  was  thou 
that  sinned,  the  fall  was  not  thine  alone,  but  ours  also,  who  are 
thy  descendants!  For  how  does  it  profit  us  that  the  eternal  age 
is  promised  to  us,  whereas  we  have  done  the  works  that  bring 
death?"  (4  Esdras  7:118-119).  ^  The  Talmud  in  some  places 
seems  to  teach  that  Adam's  sin  did  not  necessitate  the  death  of 
all  his  descendants.  His  sin  introduced  death  into  the  world, 
but  death  has  power  over  any  given  individual  simply  because  of 
that  individual's  sin.  There  have  been  nine  (among  them  Pha- 
raoh's daughter  who  rescued  Moses)  who  as  a  matter  of  fact  were 
not  sinners  and  did  not  die  (Weber,  pp.  238-242.  Cf.  also 
Schechter,  Some  aspects  of  Rabbinic  Theology,  p.  188).  Whatever 
may  have  been  Paul's  idea  about  the  way  in  which  Adam's  sin 
operates  to  make  all  his  descendants  sin  and  die,  his  main  concern 
here  is  simply  to  assert  that  a  race  sinful  and  death-smitten  in 
all  its  extent  flowed  out  from  Adam. 

142 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


13.  For  until  the  law  sin  was  in  the  world:  but  sin  is 
not  imputed  when  there  is  no  law. 

14.  Nevertheless  death  reigned  from  Adam  until 
Moses,  even  over  them  that  had  not  sinned  after 
the  likeness  of  Adam's  transgression,  who  is  a 
figure  of  him  that  was  to  come. 

15.  But  not  as  the  trespass,  so  also  is  the  free  gift. 
For  if  by  the  trespass  of  the  one  the  many  died, 
much  more  did  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by 
the  grace  of  the  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  abound 
unto  the  many. 


13-14.  For.  Introduces  proof  that  sin  has  been  universal. 
This  proof  is  found  in  the  fact  that  sin  existed  even  in  the  period 
between  Adam  and  Moses  when,  since  there  was  no  Mosaic 
"law"  to  sin  against,  it  might  be  supposed  that  there  could  be  no 
sin.  We  know,  however,  that  there  was  sin  even  then,  because 
it  is  a  historic  fact  that  in  this  period  every  one  died.  Sin  is  not 
imputed.  "Charged  to  his  account."  (Cf.  Philem.  18).  If  the 
books  were  being  carefully  kept  by  God  as  the  Talmud  represents, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  enter  a  "charge"  of  sin,  because  where  there 
was  no  law  no  commandment  could  be  specified  as  broken.  This 
does  not  mean  that  there  is  no  sin,  for  the  preceding  clause  says 
that  there  is.  It  seems  to  mean  that  God  does  not  regard  sin  as 
so  heinous  when  it  does  not  break  out  into  the  open  rebellion 
possible  only  when  there  is  a  definite  law  against  which  to  rebel. 
(Cf.  4:  15).  The  likeness  of  Adam's  transgression.  They  had 
no  explicit  commandment  like  that  given  by  God  to  Adam  in  the 
garden.  A  figure  of  him  that  was  to  come.  This  is  the  first 
indication  of  the  fact  that  the  comparison  is  to  be  between  Adam 
and  Christ.  Adam  was  the  "figure"  of  Christ  in  that  Christ  also 
was  to  be  the  founder  of  a  new  race,  the  introducer  of  the  New 
Age. 

15.  The  free  gift.  The  privilege  of  having  faith  accounted 
righteousness  with  all  the  consequences  that  this  involves.  The 
many  died.  Not  "many"  but  "the  many";  the  great  multitude, 
the  whole  race.  Paul  does  not  mean  that  all  men  will  be  saved, 
for  he  elsewhere  speaks  of  the  destruction  that  awaits  the  dis- 
obedient (II  Thess.  1 :  8-9,  Phil.  3:  18-19).  He  means  that  Jesus 
Christ  will  establish  a  new,  wholly  righteous  race.    Much  more. 

143 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


1 6.  And  not  as  through  one  that  sinned,  so  is  the  gift: 
for  the  judgement  came  of  one  unto  condemna- 
tion, but  the  free  gift  came  of  many  trespasses 
unto  justification. 

17.  For  if,  by  the  trespass  of  the  one,  death  reigned 
through  the  one;  much  more  shall  they  that  re- 
ceive the  abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of 
righteousness  reign  in  life  through  the  one,  even 
Jesus  Christ. 

18.  So  then  as  through  one  trespass  the  judgement 
came  unto  all  men  to  condemnation;  even  so 
through  one  act  of  righteousness  the  free  gift  came 
unto  all  men  to  justification  of  life. 

19.  For  as  through  the  one  man's  disobedience  the 
many  were  made  sinners,  even  so  through  the 
obedience  of  the  one  shall  the  many  be  made 
righteous. 

20.  And  the  law  came  in  beside,  that  the  trespass 

Because  God  delights  in  showing  mercy  more  than  in  punishing 
sin. 

17.  Gift  of  righteousness.  The  privilege  of  having  faith  ac- 
counted righteousness  is  a  gift.  Reign  in  life.  The  faith-righteous 
will  be  rulers  in  an  empire  characterized  by  invincible  life 
(cf.  8:  17,  29;  I  Cor.  6:2;  II  Tim.  2:  12). 

18.  Formally  resumes  the  interrupted  comparison  begun  in 
v.  12.  One  act  of  righteousness.  Jesus  Christ's  obedience  even 
unto  death  (cf.  Phil.  2:8).  Justification  of  life.  A  declaration 
of  righteousness,  an  acquittal,  that  results  in  life. 

19.  The  many.  All,  the  whole  race.  Were  made  sinners,  not 
without  the  inexcusable  action  of  their  own  wills  (i :  20  ff.  2 :  i  ff). 
They  were  constituted  sinners  in  the  sense  that  Adam's  sin  re- 
sulted in  a  sinning  race.  Christ's  righteousness  will  result  in  a 
righteous  race. 

20.  The  law  came  in  beside.  In  addition  to  the  natural  effect 
of  Adam's  sin  and  as  a  subordinate  "side  issue,"  not  in  the  supreme 
place  assigned  to  it  by  the  synagogue.     That  the  trespass  might 

144 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


might  abound;  but  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
abound  more  exceedingly: 
21.  that,  as  sin  reigned  in  death,  even  so  might  grace 
reign    through    righteousness    unto    eternal    life 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

abound;  that  the  sinful  disposition  of  Adam's  descendants  might 
break  out  abundantly  in  overt  transgression.  This  view  would 
naturally  horrify  the  synagogue  which  regarded  the  law  as  a 
means  by  which  men  might  accumulate  righteousness.  Grace 
did  abound.  Apparently  sin  was  to  be  made  abundant  and  so 
the  power  of  Sin  to  dominate  man  more  pronounced,  in  order  that 
God's  loving  kindness  might  more  effectively  deal  with  it.  When 
a  disease  lurking  in  the  system  reveals  its  presence  by  unmistak- 
able symptoms  it  can  be  more  effectively  treated:  when  the  enemy 
is  drawn  out  of  ambush  he  can  be  fought  and  conquered. 

21.  So  might  grace  reign.  Paul's  optimism  appears  in  his  view 
of  the  final  result  of  Jesus  Christ's  activity.  "Mercy  upon  all" 
is  his  final  word,  (11:32). 


10  145 


II.  Faith — Righteous  Men  and  Sin  (chs.  6-8).  Men 
WHO  have  Started  in  God's  Way  of  Righteous- 
ness BY  Believing  in  Jesus  Christ  have 
BEEN  Already  Laid  Hold  of  by  the  Powers 
OF   the  Coming  Spirit  Age  and    Must, 
Therefore,  Surely    Break   with   Sin 
WHICH  Reigns  in  this  Age  of  Flesh 
(CH.  6) They  Must  Attain  to  the  Ideal 
THAT  the  Holy  Law  of  Moses  Held 
up  but  Could  Never  Enforce  (ch. 
7).     This    Victorious    Alliance 
with  the  Spirit  World  Guaran- 
tees  THEM  A   Glorious   Life 
with  Christ  in  the  Coming 
Spirit  age    (ch.  8). 

I.  The  faith-righteous  man  cannot  continue  in  sin  so  as 
to  enjoy  more  of  God's  forgiving  love.  See  to  it, 
therefore,  that  you  do  not  yield  to  the  attacks  of  Sin 
which  we  men  in  the  border  land  of  the  flesh  and 
spirit  worlds  still  continue  to  experience  {12-14), 
6: 1-14. 

"What,  then,  shall  we  conclude  from  the  startling  fact  that  God 
provided  for  such  special  development  of  sin  as  gave  him  oppor- 
tunity to  show  the  superior  strength  of  his  up-welling  grace  (5: 
20)?  I  am  pained  to  discover  that  in  these  last  years  many  Gen- 
tile Christians  find  in  this  fact  reason  for  supposing  that  they 
please  God  by  letting  their  flesh  bodies  proceed  to  any  extreme 
of  sin  in  this  age  of  flesh,  so  soon  to  be  ended  by  the  V^rath,  in  order 
that  he  may  show  his  marvelous  kindness  by  nevertheless  assur- 

146 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


ing  to  their  spirits  a  place  in  the  New  Age  of  spirit.  Let  no  one 
for  a  moment  find  ground  in  my  gospel  for  such  an  abhorrent 
inference.  We  have  been  separated  from  the  life  of  sin  by  noth- 
ing less  than  a  death.  How  can  a  person  continue  to  live  in  a 
sphere  out  of  which  he  has  died?  (2)  Have  you  not  realized  that 
when  in  baptism  we  committed  ourselves  to  the  leadership  of 
Jesus  Christ,  he  led  us  through  a  death,  and  that  we  followed  him 
through  his  death  out  into  the  spiritual  world  where  men  do  not 
sin?  (3).  This  was  the  very  symbolism  of  our  baptism.  Sub- 
mergence in  the  baptismal  waters  was  for  us  death  and  burial  like 
his,  experienced  in  order  that  we  might  emerge  into  a  daily  life  of 
new  ethical  purity,  just  as  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  in  the  glori- 
ous spirit  form  of  his  Father's  sinless  heavenly  world.  (4).  For 
if  we  have  grown  into  him  so  as  to  be  like  him  in  point  of  death, 
so  certainly  shall  we  be  like  him  in  the  point  of  resurrection.  (5). 
We  surely  know  that  the  man  we  used  to  be,  the  man  of  the  old 
sinful  flesh  age  so  soon  to  give  place  to  the  New  Age  of  spirit,  was 
crucified  with  Christ,  so  that  the  body  >yhich  used  willingly  to 
be  the  slave  of  Sin  might  be  made  utterly  inoperative.  The  very 
purpose  of  this  was  that  our  bondage  to  Sin  should  cease  (6). 
For  he  who  has  died  out  of  Sin's  realm  has  been  absolved  from  all 
Sin's  claim  upon  him.  We  cannot  say,  as  some  do,  that  lustful 
desire  itself  is  evidence  of  the  rightful  claim  of  Sin  upon  the  flesh 
body  (7).  Now  if  we  died  with  Christ,  as  we  have  said,  we  believe 
that  we  shall  have  a  permanent  continuous  life  with  him  never  to 
be  destroyed  by  Sin  (8).  For  we  know  that  the  risen  Christ  will 
not  die  again  (9).  The  death  that  he  died  in  Sin's  realm  will 
never  be  repeated.  He  will  never  enter  it  in  the  flesh  again.  The 
life  which  he  now  lives  is  in  God's  realm,  and  he  will  never  put  oflf 
his  spirit  form  again  (10).  Since  he  looks  forward  to  no  more 
connection  with  Sin's  realm,  so  do  you  count  yourselves  to  be  out 
of  all  connection  with  it — dead  to  its  appeal,  but  alert  to  God  in 
your  faith-fellowship  with  Christ  Jesus  in  the  spirit  world  (11). 
Do  not  let  Sin  reign  in  the  death-smitten  body,  which  you  still 
for  a  short  while  inhabit  and  which  would  still  like  to  have  its 
lusts  gratified  (12).  Do  not  present  your  bodily  members  to  Sin, 
to  be  used  as  tools  with  which  to  work  unrighteousness.  But 
present  yourselves  to  God  as  if  the  resurrection  were  already 
past,  as  it  is  potentially  and  soon  will  be  in  fact.  Yield  your 
members  to  God  as  tools  to  be  used  in  working  out  righteousness 
(13).  This  you  are  now  amply  able  to  do  for  Sin  has  lost  its 
power  to  dominate  you.  You  are  not  under  a  law  which  can 
merely  hold  up  a  high  ideal  and  demand  its  realization.  If  you 
were  you  would  be  helpless.  But  you  are  living  in  the  sphere  of 
God's  grace,  in  which  Jesus  Christ  has  allied  himself  with  your 
spirits  and  given  them  power  to  realize  every  high  ideal  (14)." 

147 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

6.  What  shall  we  say  then?     Shall  we  continue  in 
sin,  that  grace  may  abound? 

2.  God  forbid.     We  who  died  to  sin,  how  shall  we 
any  longer  live  therein? 

3.  Or  are  ye  ignorant  that  all  we  who  were  baptized 
into  Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  into  his  death? 

4.  We  were  buried  therefore  with  him  through  bap- 
tism into   death:  that  like   as   Christ  was  raised 

1.  Paul  begins  here  to  protest  against  a  view  that  some  Gentile 
Christians  found  it  easy  to  adopt,  namely,  that  the  Christian 
could  sin  with  impunity.  Paul's  experience  with  the  Corinthian 
church  during  the  last  few  years  had  already  revealed  this  danger 
to  him.  There  had  been  gross  immorality  on  the  part  of  individ- 
uals, and  the  undeveloped  conscience  of  the  church  had  been 
scandalously  slack  in  its  condemnation  (cf.  I  Cor.  5:1-8,  13; 
6: 9-20.).  This  anemic  moral  sense  might  have  sprung  from 
several  causes.  The  current  idea  that  flesh  and  spirit  belonged 
to  separate,  or  even  antagonistic,  worlds  (cf.  I  Cor.  15:  50;  Gal. 
5:  17),  might  easily  lead  to  the  idea  that  nothing  done  in  the  flesh 
could  aff^ect  the  spirit.  The  way  in  which  Paul  deals  with  the 
matter  here  shows  that  his  teaching  had  been  cited  by  licentious 
Gentile  Christians  as  giving  logical  warrant  for  this  view.  These 
dangers  in  Paul's  gospel  had  doubtless  often  been  urged  by  men  of 
the  synagogue  as  fundamental  objections  to  the  legitimacy  of  his 
gospel,  and  they  had  gloated  over  the  confirmation  of  their  charges 
afforded  by  the  immorality  of  Paul's  Gentile  converts. 

2.  We  who  died  to  sin.  Paul  is  describing  the  complete  break 
with  Sin  that  has  occurred  in  the  faith-righteous  man's  life.  He 
describes  this  break  by  the  word  death,  because  underlying  the 
idea  of  two  ages,  which  he  had  just  been  discussing  (5:  12-21), 
is  the  idea  of  two  worlds  already  in  existence — a  flesh  world  where 
sin  prevails  and  a  spirit  world  of  righteousness — and  death  is  the 
natural  exit  from  the  flesh  world. 

3.  Baptized  into  Christ  Jesus,  or  unto  Christ  Jesus  (cf.  I  Cor. 
10:  2),  that  is,  to  become  his  possession,  which  involves  the  inti- 
mate purifying  personal  union  of  the  faith  relationship. 

4.  Baptized  into  his  death — so  that  we  pass  through  a  spiritual 
experience  like  that  which  he  passed  through  in  death.  We  have 
not  literally  died  out  of  the  flesh  world,  and  put  off  our  mortal 
bodies  (v.  12),  but  something  in  some  measure  equivalent  to  such 
a  death  has  happened  to  us  through  our  connection  with  Christ 
Jesus.     We  have  in  some  way  and  in  some  sense  shared  his  dying 

148 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


from  the  dead  through  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
so  we  also  might  walk  in  newness  of  life. 

out  of  the  flesh  world.  Furthermore  this  dying  is  connected  with 
baptism.  Baptism  is  not  only  death  but  even  a  kind  of  burial, 
which  would  indicate,  although  perhaps  not  necessarily,  that 
baptism  was  submergence  in  water.  Baptism  seems  to  be  not 
only  death  and  burial  by  submergence,  but  resurrection  by 
emergence.  Christ  emerged  from  the  grave  not  thsrough  the 
glory  of  the  Father  but  in  the  glory  of  the  Father  (same  use  of 
the  preposition  in  4:  ii),  that  is,  in  the  possession  of  a  glorious 
spirit  body,  God-given  and  heavenly  in  its  nature  (cf.  H  Con  4: 
1715:  1-2).  So  we  emerge  from  baptismal  death  and  burial  into 
new  life.  The  general  outline  of  Paul's  picture  is  clear:  Into  this 
flesh  world  dominated  by  Sin  and  Death  comes  Jesus.  Here  he 
dies,  but  through  death  and  resurrection  passes  into  the  spirit 
world  full  of  the  glory  of  God,  where  Sin  and  Death  touch  no  one. 
The  man  who  in  faith  takes  Jesus  as  his  Lord  is  thereby  insepar- 
ably connected  with  the  personality  of  Jesus.  His  spirit  is  al- 
ready with  Jesus'  spirit  in  the  spirit  world  (Col.  3:1).  His  body 
to  be  sure  is  still  below,  death-smitten  in  Death's  flesh  world,  but 
is  certain  to  give  place  to  a  deathless  spirit  body  (8:  lo-ii; 
I  Cor.  15:44,  50),  like  that  of  Jesus  (8:  29).^ 

Paul's  conception  of  the  function  of  baptism  in  this  process  is 
not  so  clear.  Did  he  think  that  in  the  act  of  baptism  some  physi- 
cal change  took  place  which  started  the  new  spirit  body,  or  which 
in  some  other  way  gave  the  personality  a  footing  in  the  spirit 
world?  Against  this  is  the  fact  that,  according  to  the  Book  of 
Acts,  his  own  great  experience  with  Jesus  preceded  his  baptism, 
and  that  in  I  Cor.  i :  14-17  he  speaks  in  a  somewhat  depreciatory 
tone  of  baptism,  although  in  a  way  which  indicates  that  it  was 
customary  to  place  large  emphasis  upon  it  (I  Cor.  i:  15).  Fur- 
thermore, the  reception  of  the  spirit  body  seems  in  Paul  to  be  a 
sudden  experience  not  connected  with  baptism,  to  which  all  be- 
lievers look  forward  (8:23;  II  Cor.  5:  1-2;  Phil.  3:20-21).  On 
the  other  hand  Paul's  language  here  is  very  suggestive  of  some  of 
the  mystery  religion  rites,  in  which  the  initiate  by  going  symboli- 
cally through  the  same  experiences  that  his  deity  was  supposed  to 
have  actually  passed  through,  was  thought  to  enter  into  fellowship 
with  this  deity,  and  to  secure  a  share  in  the  deity's  eternal  life. 
It  is  coming  to  seem  more  and  more  probable  that  the  mystery 
religions  constituted  a  part  of  the  environment  of  Pauline  Chris- 
tianity. Apuleius,  who  lived  in  the  next  century,  gives  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  initiation  near  Corinth  of  a  certain  Lucius  into  the 
mysteries  of  I  sis  worship.     His  picture  of  the  curious  crowd  that 

149 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


5.  For  if  we  have  become  united  with  him  by  the 
likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also  by  the  like- 
ness of  his  resurrection ; 

6.  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  was  crucified  with 
hinij  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  done  away, 

gathered  around  Lucius,  both  before  and  after  initiation,  shows 
that  the  influence  of  the  mystery  reHgions  extended,  not  only  to 
the  initiates,  but  also  to  the  multitude  of  their  uninitiated  ac- 
quaintances. Many  of  those  who  presented  themselves  for  the 
initiatory  Christian  rite  of  baptism  may  have  previously  been 
initiated  into  some  of  the  mystery  religions,  or  at  least  have  shared 
the  popular  attitude  toward  their  initiatory  rites.  Such  persons, 
in  view  of  what  they  had  learned  of  the  life  and  character  of 
Jesus  Christ,  would  come  to  the  solemn  ceremony  of  Christian 
baptism  with  expectation  of  some  great  change  far  surpassing 
that  which  they  had  attributed  in  imagination  to  the  mystery 
rites.  The  psychological  result  of  such  expectation  would  in 
many  cases  have  been  remarkable  emotional  upheaval,  which 
would  have  been  interpreted  by  the  Christian  initiates  in  accord- 
ance with  the  presuppositions  of  their  thought.  Even  if  Paul 
himself  did  not  see  in  these  baptismal  experiences  of  his  believing 
converts  evidence  of  some  actual  physical  change,  produced  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  through  baptism,  he  would  still  have  regarded 
baptism  as  a  very  wonderful  experience  that  might  properly  be 
described  in  terms  that  would  make  its  profound  significance 
intelligible  to  those  who  had  current  ideas  regarding  what  was 
to  be  expected  from  initiatory  rites.  The  great  fact  to  Paul's 
mind  was  the  wonderful  transforming  power  of  spiritual  contact 
through  faith  with  the  personality  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  it  might 
not  seem  strange  to  him  that,  as  the  believing  disciple  repeated  in 
baptismal  symbolism  the  death  and  resurrection  experiences  of 
his  Lord,  the  personality  of  Jesus  should  make  its  presence  felt 
in  some  wonderful  way  in  the  very  constitution  of  the  disciple's 
inner  being. 

5.  United  with.  The  word  is  one  that  appears  in  the  vocab- 
ulary of  the  mystery  religions.  Shall  be.  Evidently  a  part  of 
the  experience  symbolized  by  baptism,  the  assumption  of  the 
resurrection  body,  is  yet  in  the  future. 

6.  Our  old  man.  Our  old  time  man  who  belonged  to  Sin's  age. 
Called  "old"  because  in  Jewish  thought  the  coming  Messianic 
Age  is  considered  "new"  and  everything  in  the  present  age  is 
"old"  (cf.  Rev.  21:  i;  Mk,  14:25;  II  Cor.  5:17-18).  Body  of 
sin.     The  kind  of  body  possessed  by  all  who  live  in  the  present 

150 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


that  so  we  should  no  longer  be  in  bondage  to  sin; 

7.  for  he  that  hath  died  is  justified  from  sin. 

8.  But  if  we  died  with  Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall 
also  live  with  him ; 

9.  knowing  that  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead 
dieth  no  more;  death  no  more  hath  dominion 
over  him. 

10.  For  the  death  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once: 
but  the  life  that  he  liveth,  he  liveth  unto  God. 

11.  Even  so  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead 

age  of  Sin,  a  kind  of  body  that  easily  lends  itself  to  Sin's  uses. 
"Sin"  seems  to  be  a  distinct  personal  power.  Paul  conceived  the 
life  of  man  to  be  surrounded  by  evil  personal  intelligences  (Eph. 
6:  11-12).  Therefore  it  was  natural  for  him  to  see  back  of  any 
particular  evil  condition  some  malign  intelligence.  See  Intro- 
duction p.  3.  Done  away.  Ultimately  done  away,  when  the 
resurrection  body  will  be  assumed,  and  until  then  its  power  of 
present  domination  done  away  (cf.  vs.  12-14). 

7.  Justified  from  sin.  Acquitted  or  "released"  (marginal 
reading)  from  Sin.  Gives  the  reason  for  the  last  clause  in  v.  6. 
The  natural  appetite  was  perhaps  considered  an  evidence  that 
Sin  had  a  claim  upon  the  flesh  body  (cf.  i  Cor.  6:  12-13). 

8.  We  shall  also  live;.  When  we  receive  our  resurrection  bod- 
ies. We  have  died  and  we  shall  also  live,  but  where  are  we  in  the 
meantime?  Paul's  figure  seems  to  fail  here.  He  pushes  on 
under  the  impulse  of  his  great  main  idea  careless  as  to  what  be- 
comes of  his  figure,  dropping  it  and  picking  it  up  again  as  will 
best  serve  his  purpose  for  the  moment.  His  main  idea  is  clear: 
a  great  moral  re-enforcement  has  come  to  us  in  the  personal  union 
of  our  spirits  with  the  Spirit  of  the  resurrected  Christ.  This 
guarantees  us  future  resurrection  bodies  like  Christ's  and  present 
power  over  the  flesh  bodies  we  still  possess. 

9.  The  life  will  be  an  endless  life  like  Christ's;  we  pass  out 
from  the  domain  of  Sin  and  Death  forever. 

10.  Died  unto  sin  once.  An  experience  never  to  be  repeated. 
Christ  will  never  again  assume  a  flesh  body  and  so  take  his  place 
again  in  Sin's  realm.  He  liveth  unto  God — in  the  spirit  world  of 
God  and  deathless  glory.  ^ 

1 1 -1 4.  Direct  exhortation  addressed  to  the  Gentile  Christians 
who  constitute  at  least  the  large  majority  of  his  readers,  and  who 

151 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God,  in   Christ  Jesus. 

12.  Let  not  sin  therefore  reign  in  your  mortal  body, 
that  ye  should  obey  the  lusts  thereof : 

13.  neither  present  your  members  unto  sin  as  in- 
struments of  unrighteousness;  but  present  your- 
selves unto  God,  as  alive  from  the  dead,  and  your 
members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto 
God. 

14.  For  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you:  for  ye 
are  not  under  law,  but  under  grace. 

2.  The  fact  that  the  faith-righteous  men  have  passed  out 
of  the  sphere  where  Sin  reigns  and  law  punishes 
into  the  sphere  of  God's  forgiving  love  necessarily 
involves  enslavement  to  God's  righteousness.  We 
may  think  of  ourselves  under  the  figure  of  a  slave 
who  changed  masters.     We  broke  away  from  our 

are  in  great  danger  of  thinking  that  it  makes  little  difference  what 
they  do  with  their  flesh  bodies  in  the  brief  interval  before  they 
dispense  with  them  altogether  and  enter  fully  upon  the  life  of 
the  spirit  Age. 

II.  Reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  unto  sin.  Paul  con- 
tends with  utmost  earnestness  that  in  this  border-land  period 
they  are  not  to  be  subject  in  any  part  of  their  being  to  the  domi- 
nance of  the  dark  land  of  evil  from  which  they  are  emerging,  but 
to  be  wholly  subject  to  the  power  of  the  realm  for  which  they 
have  started. 

In  Christ  Jesus.  The  fellowship  of  their  spirits  with  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  makes  it  feasible  to  do  this, 

14.  Not  under  law  but  under  grace.  The  reason  why  Sin  can- 
not longer  "lord  it"  over  them  is  the  fact  that  they  are  not  left 
with  nothing  but  a  written  law  in  their  hands  or  a  conscience  law 
in  their  hearts  (cf,  2:  15),  a  bare  ideal  of  duty  with  threats  and 
promises  attached.  If  they  were  they  would  be  helpless.  But 
God's  grace,  his  beautiful  kindness,  has  drawn  near  them  in  the 
personal  form  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  alliance  with  him  they  can 
realize  the  ideal  presented  to  them  in  the  law. 

152 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 


sad  bondage  to  Sin  and  the  penalty  pronounced  by 
law,  and  came  into  glad  bondage  to  God's  righteous- 
ness {6:15-23).  Or  we  may  use  the  figure  of 
the  woman  who  changed  husbands.  When  her 
first  husband  died  she  married  another.  When 
our  connection  with  the  control  of  the  law  ceased 
we  instantly  came  under  the  control  of  Christ. 
{7:  1-6).     6:  15-7:6 

"Neither  must  you  in  Rome  believe, — as  some  other  Gentile 
Christians,  to  my  shame,  have  been  glad  to  believe — that  since, 
according  to  my  gospel,  we  are  not  left  to  wrestle  with  law,  its 
high  ideal  and  certain  penalty,  but  have  to  do  instead  with  the 
forgiving  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  we  may  without  fear  let 
our  bodily  lusts  be  gratified.  Let  no  one  quote  any  statement  of 
mine  as  authority  for  such  a  conclusion  (15),  Think  of  the  situa- 
tion under  the  analogy  of  the  relation  between  slave  and  master. 
You  are  the  slave  of  the  power  you  propose  to  obey,  and  in  this 
case,  that  power  must  be  either  Sin  or  God.  But  to  be  mastered 
by  the  spirit  of  obedience  to  God  means  righteousness  which  of 
course  yields  life  (16).  Thank  God  that  you,  who  used  to  be 
slaves  to  Sin,  heartily  subjected  yourselves  to  the  Lordship  of 
Jesus  as  it  is  presented  in  the  form  of  teaching  whose  control  over 
you  was  secured  by  faithful  preachers  (17).  This  freed  you  from 
Sin's  mastery  and  enabled  you  to  become  slaves  of  righteousness 
(18).  I  use  this  inadequate  illustration,  taken  from  the  relation- 
ships of  this  present  age  of  flesh,  becauseyourconnection  with  the 
fiesh  weakens  your  direct  perception  of  the  facts  of  spiritual  ex- 
perience. The  gist  of  the  matter  is  this:  you  used  to  yield  your 
bodily  organs  to  the  service  of  licentiousness  and  other  forms  of 
wickedness  with  the  result  that  you  lived  wicked  lives;  now  yield 
these  bodily  organs  to  the  service  of  righteousness  that  the  result 
may  be  lives  set  sacredly  apart  to  God's  pure  uses  (19).  It  is  true 
that  when  you  were  slaves  of  Sin  you  were  free  men  so  far  as  the 
control  of  righteousness  was  concerned  (20).  But  then,  of  what 
advantage  was  your  freedom?  It  was  simply  freedom  to  wallow 
in  the  deadly  things  you  now  blush  to  remember  (21)!  But  now 
that  you  are  freed  from  the  vile  slavery  to  Sin  and  have  become 
God's  bondslaves,  you  experience  the  unspeakable  advantage  of 
power  to  live  a  pure  life  that  leads  to  the  endless  liberty  of  the 
Coming  Age  (22).  The  man  who  is  Sin's  slave  gets  personal 
ruin  meted  out  to  him  as  the  wages  he  so  thoroughly  earns! 

153 


THE   EPISTLE   TO  THE   ROMANS 


15.  What  then?  shall  we  sin,  because  we  are  not  under 
law,  but  under  grace?     God  forbid. 

God's  bondslave  receives  as  a  generous  and  undeserved  free  gift, 
the  endless  life  of  the  Coming  Age,  through  his  connection  with 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  (23). 

Let  me  illustrate  in  another  way  the  fact  that  the  person  who 
is  no  longer  subject  to  the  law  must  not  therefore  feel  free  to  sin. 
I  am  writing  to  you  men  of  Rome,  the  center  of  the  empire's  laws, 
who  know  law  well.  You  understand  that  the  law  rules  a  man 
only  so  long  as  he  lives.  The  law  does  not  follow  a  dead  man 
(l).  As  illustration  of  this  take  a  matter  pertinent  to  our  present 
discussion.  The  law  binds  a  married  woman  to  her  husband  as 
long  as  he  lives.  If  the  husband  die  and  the  marriage  relation  be 
broken  up,  she  is  free  from  connection  with  the  husband  law  (2). 
By  the  terms  of  this  law  she  will  be  called  an  adulteress  if  she 
marry  another  man  while  her  husband  lives,  but  if  her  husband 
die  she  may  marry  another.  The  death  of  a  party  to  the  marriage 
contract  dissolves  the  contract,  breaks  up  connection  with  the 
law  which  sustained  the  contract,  and  leaves  the  way  open  to 
form  another  relationship  (3).  And  so,  my  brothers,  you  may 
think  of  yourselves  as  having  died  out  of  all  relation  to  the  law, 
when  Christ's  body  died  and  passed  out  of  the  law's  flesh  age, 
and  as  having  been  left  free  to  enter  into  another  relationship, 
namely,  a  relationship  with  Christ,  who  meets  you  on  the  other 
side  of  death,  because  himself  raised  from  the  dead.  It  is  God's 
purpose  that  the  product  of  this  new  relationship  shall  be  some- 
thing that  will  please  him  (4).  This  certainly  has  not  hitherto 
been  the  case.  Before  you  died,  when  you  were  living  in  the 
sphere  of  the  flesh  with  all  its  evil  inclinations,  all  sorts  of  sinful 
lusts,  stirred  up  to  perverse  exercise  by  the  law,  expressed  them- 
selves in  your  bodily  organs  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  results 
suited  not  to  God  but  to  ruinous  death  (5).  But  now  we  have 
been  freed  from  the  law  which,  before  we  died  to  it,  used  to  hold  us 
in  bondage  and  keep  us  from  forming  an  alliance  with  any  other. 
We  are  left  free  to  ally  ourselves  with  Christ,  a  person,  and  to 
serve  him  in  that  high  development  of  our  spiritual  nature  which 
characterizes  that  New  Age  of  spirit;  we  are  not  in  connection  any 
longer  with  a  mere  document,  the  written  law,  which  belongs  with 
the  old  age  of  flesh." 

15.  Shall  we  sin?  The  fundamental  diflficulty  is  the  same 
that  appeared  in  the  last  paragraph,  but  Paul  wishes  to  discuss  it 
in  every  form  in  which  he  has  found  it  appearing,  so  that  it  may 
be  utterly  rooted  out  of  the  minds  of  all  Gentile  Christians.  This 
paragraph  is  hortatory  and  not  apologetic.     Not  under  law.     The 

154 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


1 6.  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye  present  yourselves 
as  servants  unto  obedience,  his  servants  ye  are 
whom  ye  obey;  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of 
obedience  unto  righteousness? 

17.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  that,  whereas  ye  were 
servants  of  sin,  ye  became  obedient  from  the 
heart  to  that  form  of  teaching  whereunto  ye  were 
deUvered ; 

18.  and  being  made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  servants 
of   righteousness. 

19.  I  speak  after  the  manner  of  men  because  of  the 
infirmity  of  your  flesh:  for  as  ye  presented  your 
members  as  servants  to  uncleanness  and  to  in- 


fact  that  they  were  not  expected  to  obey  the  details  of  the  Mosaic 
law  as  did  the  Jews,  led  them  to  feel  superior  to  all  the  moral 
obligations  presented  in  the  law.  They  stood  in  such  favor  with 
God,  that  they  could,  without  fear  of  defilement  or  punishment, 
indulge  all  the  bodily  appetites,  especially  the  sexual  appetite 
(I  Cor.  5-6)! 

16.  Servants  .  .  .  of  sin  unto  death.  To  give  life  up  to 
Sin  is  to  be  the  slave  of  Sin,  and  necessarily  results  in  death. 
What  death  is  he  will  make  more  evident  in  ch.  8.  He  assumes 
here  that  an  act  is  not  sinful  simply  because  the  law  forbids  it, 
so  that  being  out  from  under  law  would  make  it  possible  to  do  the 
forbidden  thing  with  impunity.  The  act  is  in  itself  wrong.  To 
practise  it  is  to  be  in  bondage  to  Sin,  and  this  leads  inevitably  to 
death. 

17.  Obedient  from  the  heart  to  that  form  of  teaching  where- 
unto ye  were  deUvered.  They  had  been  "delivered,"  brought 
into  voluntary  captivity,  to  a  certain  form  of  teaching — carrying 
out  the  figure  of  slave  and  master.  This  "form  of  teaching" 
presented  Jesus  as  Lord  (cf.  10:8-9).  .In  faith  they  accepted 
him  as  Lord,  and  his  Lordship  in  their  lives  necessarily  involved 
the  discontinuance  of  bondage  to  Sin. 

19.  I  speak  after  the  manner  of  men.  An  apology  for  using 
imperfect  analogies  from  life  in  the  present  flesh  age  to  illustrate 
truths  of  the  spirit  world,  a  procedure  made  necessary  by  the 
weakness  of  their  spiritual  perceptions  resulting  from  the  undue 

155 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


iquity  unto  iniquity,  even  so  now  present  your 
members  as  servants  to  righteousness  unto  sancti- 
fication. 

20.  For  when  ye  were  servants  of  sin,  ye  were  free  in 
regard  of  righteousness. 

21.  What  fruit  then  had  ye  at  that  time  in  the  things 
whereof  ye  are  now  ashamed?  for  the  end  of  those 
things  is  death. 

22.  But  now  being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become 
servants  to  God,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto  sancti- 
fication,  and  the  end  eternal  Hfe. 

23.  For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death;  but  the  free  gift  of 
God  is  eternal  life  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

7.  Or  are  ye  ignorant,  brethren  (for  I  speak  to  men 
that  know  the  law) ,  how  that  the  law  hath  domin- 
ion over  a  man  for  so  long  time  as  he  liveth? 

influence  of  the  flesh  age  over  them.  Uncleanness.  Usually 
sexual  immorality.  Sanctification,  holiness;  in  general,  the  char- 
acteristic of  one  set  sacredly  apart  to  God's  uses  in  human  society, 
and  here  particularly  contrasted  with  licentious  uncleanness. 

20.  Free  in  regard  of  righteousness.  The  principle  of  right- 
eousness, enforced  in  the  soul  by  the  Lordship  of  Jesus,  had  then 
no  power  over  them. 

21.  Fruit,  advantage,  profit.     Death.     See  8:  6. 

22.  Fruit  unto  sanctification.  The  life  of  glad  enslavement  to 
God,  as  they  accept  in  faith  the  Lordship  of  Jesus,  results  immedi- 
ately in  purity  of  life  and  ultimately  in  the  endless  life  of  the  future 
messianic  kingdom. 

23.  The  wages  of  sin  is  death.  The  slave  master  is  perhaps 
ironically  said  to  pay  wages — but  a  wage  that  consists  in  death! 
Or  perhaps  the  contrast  is  between  wages,  as  what  men  deserve, 
and  the  undeserved  gift  of  life  in  the  messianic  age  which  the 
Lord  of  the  Age  to  come  brings  them. 

7:  I.  A  second  illustration,  one  taken  from  married  life,  is  used 
to  show  that  the  man  who  has  ceased  to  rely  for  righteousness 
upon  law,  whether  the  Mosaic  law  or  its  equivalent  written  in  the 
heart,  cannot  feel  free  to  sin.     The  figure  cannot  be  applied  in 

156 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


2.  For  the  woman  that  hath  a  husband  is  bound  by 
law  to  the  husband  while  he  liveth ;  but  if  the  hus- 
band die,  she  is  discharged  from  the  law  of  the 
husband. 

3.  So  then  if,  while  the  husband  liveth,  she  be  joined 
to  another  man,  she  shall  be  called  an  adulteress: 
but  if  the  husband  die,  she  is  free  from  the  law, 
so  that  she  is  no  adulteress,  though  she  be  joined 
to  another  man. 

4.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  were  made  dead 
to  the  law  through  the  body  of  Christ;  that  ye 


detail  for  it  breaks  down  at  two  points.  In  the  actual  experience 
discussed  by  Paul  the  one  who  dies  to  the  law  forms  the  new 
relationship  with  Christ,  whereas  in  the  illustration  the  one  who 
does  not  die  marries  again.  Furthermore,  the  figure  seems  to 
require  that  the  one  who  dies  to  the  law  meet  Jesus  Christ  beyond 
death  and  there  be  united  to  him,  whereas  in  ch.  6,  and  here  in 
V.  4,  he  seems  to  be  united  with  Christ  before  and  in  death.  Paul 
seems  also  in  his  figure  to  waver  between  the  husband  and  the 
husband  law  as  that  with  which  the  woman's  relation  is  broken 
by  her  husband's  death.  However,  the  main  fact  is  clear  enough, 
namely,  that  as  the  marriage  relation  established  by  law  is 
broken  up  by  the  death  of  one  party,  and  the  survivor,  no  longer 
subject  to  the  dead  partner  through  the  marriage  law,  is  left  free 
to  marry  another,  so  the  relation  to  the  Mosaic  law  is  broken  up 
by  the  death  of  its  subject,  and  the  resurrected  subject  is  left  free 
to  form  a  new  relationship  with  Jesus  Christ.  The  outstanding 
fact  is  that  he  does  form  this  relation.  He  is  not  left  unrelated 
and  unrestrained,  and  this  new  relation  to  Christ  is  one  that  makes 
the  dominance  of  Sin  an  impossibility.  Men  who  know  the  law. 
Omit  "the."  People  who  live  in  Rome,  the  center  from  which 
law  goes  forth  to  all  the  world,  are  men  who  know  law,  and  who 
will  realize  that  law  does  not  have  jurisdiction  over  a  dead  man. 

2.  The  law  of  the  husband.  The  husband  law,  the  law  regulat- 
ing the  relation  of  husbands  and  wives,  no  longer  applies  to  her. 

4.  Made  dead  to  the  law  through  the  body  of  Christ.  The 
death  of  Christ's  flesh  body  is  regarded  as  being  the  death  of  the 
believer's  flesh  body,  a  death  which  takes  him  out  of  the  flesh 
world  which  is  the  sphere  in  which  the  law  operates.     How  could 

157 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


should  be  joined  to  another,  even  to  him  who  was 
raised  from  the  dead,  that  we  might  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  God. 

5.  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the  sinful  passions, 
which  were  through  the  law,  wrought  in  our  mem- 
bers to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death. 

6.  But  now  we  have  been  discharged  from  the  law, 
having  died  to  that  wherein  we  were  holden;  so 
that  we  serve  in  newness  of  the  spirit,  and  not  in 
oldness  of  the  letter. 

the  death  of  Christ's  body  be  the  death  of  the  beUever's  body? 
Here  is  a  point  where  it  is  difficult  to  follow  Paul.  He  seems  to 
feel  that  Christ's  passing  out  of  the  flesh  world  and  up  into  the 
victorious  spirit  world  through  death  and  resurrection,  creates  an 
opening  through  which  any  who  in  faith  would  follow  him  as 
Lord  may  come  after  him.  If  this  be  his  thought,  it  rests  upon  a 
dualistic  view  which  sees  the  world  of  flesh  and  the  world  of  spirit 
as  absolutely  separate  spheres.  The  death  they  experience  is  in 
their  cases,  though  not  in  his,  the  due  penalty  of  sin  pronounced 
upon  them  by  law.  They  die  to  law  thrciugh  law  (Gal.  2:  19). 
The  fact  that  death  for  them  leads  up  into  the  spirit  world  of  light 
is  due  to  their  following  him  in  spiritual  fellowship.  Bring  forth 
fruit  unto  God.  Language  of  the  marriage  relationship.  The 
union  with  Christ  will  be  productive  of  results  that  God  can  use. 

5.  In  the  flesh.  The  word  flesh  when  used  ethically  denotes  all 
that  within  a  man  which  demands  its  own  gratification  regardless  of 
any  other  interest.  When  it  is  unrestrained  it  expresses  itself  in 
the  activities  described  in  Gal.  5:19-21.  To  be  in  the  flesh 
usually  means  to  be  under  the  control  of  this  selfish  instinct. 
Here  the  expression  may  refer  more  to  the  general  flesh  and  blood 
life  before  the  flesh  body  has  died.  Were  through  the  law. 
Were  stirred  up  through  the  law.  The  law's  prohibition  excited 
them  to  perverse  activity  (3:20;  5:20  and  especially  7:7-11). 
Fruit  unto  death.  The  offspring  of  the  old  relation  to  law  was 
action  that  wrecked  the  personality. 

6.  Discharged  from  the  law.  Our  relation  to  law  has  been 
destroyed.  The  death  penalty  for  failure  to  meet  the  law's  ideal 
has  come  upon  us  and  we  have  passed  out  of  law's  sphere  with 
Christ  into  the  spirit  world.  Newness  of  spirit.  A  spirit  which 
belongs  to  the  New  Spirit  Age.     Oldness  of  the  letter.     The  writ- 

158 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

3.  The  law  does  not  create  sin;  it  reveals  sin.  As  the 
law  approaches  to  point  out  the  righteousness  that 
leads  to  life  and  to  pronounce  penalty  upon  un- 
righteousness, the  ever-present  deadly  Sin  that  lies 
dormant  in  me  springs  up  to  produce  those  deeds 
upon  which  the  law  pronounces  the  death  penalty. 
7:  7-12. 


ten  law  belonged  to  the  old  age,  the  age  of  flesh  (v.  5).  We  no 
longer  continue  our  futile  effort  to  meet  unaided  the  requirements 
of  the  ideal  presented  in  the  law,  as  we  did  in  the  old  flesh  age. 
We  have  passed  into  the  New  Age  of  Spirit  where  our  spirits,  re- 
enforced  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  as  will  appear  in  ch.  8,  are  now 
able  to  "serve"  God  successfully.  The  word  "serve"  goes  back 
to  the  figure  of  bond  service  in  6:  15-23, 

"Do  not  infer,  as  some  Gentile  Christians  have  done,  that  in 
speaking  of  the  law  as  that  which  stirs  up  Sin's  passions  and  as 
that  from  whose  jurisdiction  we  have  escaped,  I  consider  the  law 
to  be  a  sinful  agency  whose  ethical  standards  we  Christians  need 
no  longer  regard.  I  abhor  such  a  view.  What  I  mean  is  that  I 
should  never  have  recognized  my  own  fatally  sinful  disposition 
except  through  the  action  of  the  law  upon  me.  You  may  see,  as 
I  certainly  do,  a  picture  of  our  own  spiritual  history  in  the  story 
of  law,  Sin  and  death  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  I  should  never 
have  recognized  the  fatal  inclination  in  me  to  want  what  God 
would  keep  from  me,  if  God's  law  had  not  said  to  me.  Thou  shalt 
notcpvet  (7).  As  soon  as  this  command  came  my  natural  instincts 
rose  in  strong  desire  of  the  forbidden  thing,  and  Sin  utilized  the 
occasion  to  stir  up  in  me  a  mad  riot  of  covetous  desires.  As  long 
as  there  was  no  command  of  God,  Sin  lay  in  a  death-like  sleep 
within  me,  and  I  went  cheerfully  on  unconscious  of  the  real  situa- 
tion (8).  But  when  the  command  came  and  the  issue  was  de- 
veloped, the  sinful  disposition  leaped  up  within  me.  I  yielded  to 
it  and  all  the  deadly  consequences  of  sin  began  to  appear  (9). 
The  commandment  which  pointed  out  the  way  of  life  turned  out 
to  be  my  death  sentence  (10).  For  Sin  took  the  occasion  which 
the  commandment  created,  deceived  me  as  it  did  our  first  parents, 
and  brought  ruin  upon  me  (11).  This  shows  what  I  think  of  the 
law.  Let  no  one  in  excuse  of  his  own  misconduct  attribute  to  me 
any  depreciation  of  its  ethical  standards!  The  law  is  sacred  and 
right  and  beneficent  (12)." 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


7.  What  shall  we  say  then?  Is  the  law  sin?  God 
forbid.  Howbeit,  I  had  not  known  sin,  except 
through  the  law:  for  I  had  not  known  coveting, 
except  the  law  had  said.  Thou  shalt  not  covet: 

7.  Is  the  law  sin?  By  representing  the  law  to  be  an  agency 
which  belongs  to  the  present  flesh  age  of  Sin,  an  agency  which 
stirs  up  the  sinful  passions  and  from  which  a  man  does  well  to  be 
released  by  death,  Paul  might  seem  to  have  identified  the  law 
with  Sin.  This  was  probably  the  view  attributed  to  him  by 
many  Gentile  Christians.  They  proceeded  to  infer  that  therefore 
they  were  warranted  in  ignoring  the  law's  ethical  ideals,  at  least 
so  far  as  these  ideals  concerned  the  conduct  of  the  short-lived 
flesh  body  soon  to  be  laid  off  at  the  dawning  of  the  New  Age  of 
spirit.  Paul  was  profoundly  concerned  to  correct  this  misunder- 
standing of  his  gospel  both  for  the  sake  of  the  moral  safety  of 
Gentile  Christians,  who  are  directly  addressed  here,  and  because 
the  prevalence  of  such  a  misconception  of  his  teaching  would  of 
course  antagonize  the  Jews  both  Christian  and  non-Christian, 
whom  Paul  hoped  to  see  soon  coming  to  stand  with  all  Gentile 
Christians  (11:  11-32)  on  the  common  Christian  platform  which 
he  is  stating  in  Romans.  I.  Paul  begins  to  speak  in  the  first  per- 
son. It  is  his  own  spiritual  autobiography  that  appears  here, 
but  it  is  his  own  intense  personal  experience  interpreted  in 
the  light  of  the  presuppositions  of  his  thought,  that  is,  in  the 
light  of  what  he  found  in  the  first  three  chapters  of  Genesis, 
an  experience  regarded  by  him  as  one  that  would  therefore  be 
more  or  less  thoroughly  realized  in  the  case  of  every  man. 
Had  not  known  sin  except  through  the  law.  This  does  not 
mean  that  he  would  not  have  recognized  a  given  course  of 
conduct  as  wrong  unless  the  law  had  pronounced  it  wrong. 
It  riieans  rather  that  he  would  not  have  recognized  the  pres- 
ence in  him  of  a  slumbering,  but  real  and  fatal  inclination  to 
do  the  wrong  thing,  unless  the  law  by  forbidding  such  conduct, 
had  aroused  this  sinful  disposition  to  reveal  itself  in  overt  trans- 
gression. He  would  not  have  recognized  that  he  was  really  a 
slave  of  Sin.  This  is  the  situation  described  in  5 :  20,  where  Sin 
is  represented  to  have  been  really  in  the  world  in  all  the  centuries 
preceding  Moses,  but  to  have  been  provoked  into  special  activity 
by  the  entrance  of  the  law.  The  purpose  of  the  law  therefore, 
is  to  bring  Sin  out  into  the  open  where  it  can  be  adequately  dealt 
with,  to  make  the  disease  reveal  itself  in  unmistakable  symptoms 
so  that  it  can  be  cured.  I  had  not  known  coveting.  Coveting  is 
a  strong  desire  for  what  is  forbidden.     It  may  be  that  Paul's 

160 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 


7:9 


8.  but  sin,  finding  occasion,  wrought  in  me  through 
the  commandment  all  manner  of  coveting:  for 
apart  from  the  law  sin  is  dead. 

9.  And  I  was  alive  apart  from  the  law  once:  but  when 
the  commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died: 


sense  of  sinfulness  had  come  to  him  in  connection  with  some 
specific  unlawful  desire,  some  envious  desire  for  reputation  and 
honor  in  the  circle  of  ambitious  young  rabbis  in  Jerusalem  (Gal. 
1 :  14),  or  for  some  of  the  things  mentioned  in  the  commandment, 
another's  wife  or  property  (Ex.  20:  17).  If  so,  he  interpreted 
his  experience  in  the  light  of  the  unlawful  desire  of  Adam  and  Eve 
for  forbidden  fruit  in  Eden. 

8.  Sin  finding  occasion.  Finding  a  chance  to  utilize  for  my 
ruin  the  unlawful  passions  (cf.  "Sin's  passions,"  v.  5)  stirred  into 
activity  by  the  coming  of  the  law.  Sin  seems  to  be  regarded  as 
an  actual  personality.  It  plays  the  same  part  here  that  the  ser- 
pent did  in  Eden,  when  man's  natural  desire  ("saw  that  the  tree 
was  good  for  food,"  Gen.  3:6),  stimulated,  or  at  least  brought 
clearly  to  consciousness,  by  God's  commandment,  was  used  by 
the  serpent  to  work  ruin.  All  manner  of  coveting.  Knowledge 
of  nakedness  immediately  followed  in  the  Genesis  narrative,  and 
all  the  forms  of  sin  that  preceded  the  flood  ("every  imagination 
of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually"  Gen.  6:5). 
Apart  from  law  sin  is  dead.  Evidently  from  the  whole  context 
not  non-existent  and  so  created  by  the  law,  but  dormant  in  a 
death-like  sleep.  The  word  is  chosen  also  because  Paul  wishes  to 
bring  out  with  rhetorical  effect  the  fact  that  Sin  coming  to  life  in 
him  changed  his  life  into  death. 

9.  I  was  alive  apart  from  law  once — started  on  the  way  to 
eternal  life,  certain  to  attain  it  if  the  law  had  kept  away?  Prob- 
ably not,  for  Sin  was  sleeping  within,  sure  of  its  victim,  ready  to 
awake  and  assert  control  as  soon  as  anything  stirred  the  passions. 
The  sentence  describes  the  state  of  Adam  and  Eve  in  the  Genesis 
narrative  before  God's  commandment  came  to  them.  Did  Paul 
think  that  they  would  have  lived  on  happily  forever  if  there  had 
been  no  commandment  given  them?  He  is  evidently  not  trying 
here  really  to  grapple  with  the  problem  of  the  origin  of  sin,  but  to 
show  that  the  law  is  not  an  evil  thing  and  that  its  ethical  stand- 
ards may  not  be  discarded.  If  he  has  his  own  experience  here  in 
mind,  he  is  perhaps  thinking  of  the  period  in  his  early  life  before 
he  became  conscious  of  seriously  wanting  anything  that  he  ought 
not  to  have — perhaps  before  he  began  to  make  professional  study  of 

11  161 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 


10.  and  the  commandment,  which  was  unto  Hfe,  this 
I  found  to  be  unto  death: 

11.  for  sin,  finding  occasion,  through  the  command- 
ment beguiled  me,  and  through  it  slew  me. 

12.  So  that  the  law  is  holy,  and  the  commandment 
holy,  and  righteous,  and  good. 

4.  Not  the  law  but  Sin  causes  my  death.  My  own 
better  nature  sides  with  the  law,  recognizes  in  it  the 
guide  to  life  and  desires  to  follow  it.  The  difficulty 
is  that  my  lower  nature  houses  Sin,  gives  it  vantage 
ground,  and  so  my  whole  being  is  dominated  by  Sin, 
reduced  to  despair  and  death.  {Thank  God  there 
is  a  deliverer!)  "/:  13-2$. 

the  law.  I  died.  The  penalty  for  the  disobedience  in  the  garden 
was  death,  (Gen.  3:3),  the  death  that  began  immediately  in  the 
form  of  at  least  partial  estrangement  from  God  and  ultimately 
resulted,  as  Paul  would  say,  in  physical  death  with  whatever  un- 
desirable consequences  were  to  come  still  later.  In  Paul's  own 
case  death  would  have  been  conscious  estrangement  from  God, 
the  restless  conscience.  It  may  not  have  seemed  to  be  "death" 
to  him  at  the  time,  but  now  as  he  looks  back  over  his  experience 
from  the  Christian  standpoint  and  interprets  it  in  the  light  of  the 
Genesis  narrative,  he  sees  that  it  was  really  death. 

10.  Which  was  unto  life.  Which  commanded  that  which  was 
necessary  to  life,  and  so  pointed  out  the  way  of  life. 

11.  Beguiled  me.     "The  serpent  beguiled  me"     (Gen.  3:   13). 

12.  Sums  up  the  answer  to  v.  7.  The  law,  even  the  specific 
commandment  that  resulted  in  death,  is  sacred  and  right  and 
beneficent. 

"Can  it  be  said  that  even  if  I  do  regard  the  law  as  in  itself  good, 
still  I  represent  it  to  be  that  which  brings  death  upon  its  possessors, 
and  so  to  be  something  whose  ideals  cannot  safely  be  adopted? 
Nothing  could  be  farther  from  my  meaning!  Sin  is  what  brings 
death;  the  law  simply  brings  to  light  the  real  malignity  of  Sin  by 
giving  it  opportunity  to  produce  death  through  the  malignant  use 
of  so  good  a  thing  as  law  (13).  The  law  cannot  directly  cause 
death  for  it  holds  up  ideals  that  appeal  to  the  spirit  and  lead  to 

I6^ 


THE   EPISTLE   TO  THE   ROMANS 


13.  Did  then  that  which  is  good  become  death  unto 
me?  God  forbid.  But  sin,  that  it  might  be 
shewn  to  be  sin,  by  working  death  to  me  through 

life.  The  trouble  is  that  I,  before  whom  these  ideals  are  held  up, 
am  thoroughly  under  the  dominance  of  the  selfish  side  of  my 
nature.  I  am,  therefore,  an  absolute  slave  to  Sin  (14).  I  act 
like  a  slave.  I  do  whatever  I  am  ordered  to  do  without  under- 
standing the  reason  for  it.  I  gofurther  than  this — I  do  not  do 
what  I  want  to  do  and  I  often  do  what  I  hate  to  do  (15).  But  the 
fact  that  my  real  self  does  not  want  to  do  the  unlawful  things 
that  I  do,  shows  that  I  do  recognize  the  law  to  be  possessed  of  a 
beautiful  nobility  and  not  to  be  a  death  dealing  agency  (16).  It 
is  not  the  law,  but  Sin,  that  we  need  to  recognize  as  our  enemy. 
Our  better  nature  has  no  contention  with  law.  It  is  not  my  real 
self  that  disobeys  the  law,  but  Sin  that  dwells  in  me  (17).  I  make 
this  statement  deliberately,  for  I  understand  myself  well  since  the 
law  has  revealed  me  to  myself.  In  me,  that  is  in  my  lower,  selfish 
nature,  nothing  good  has  found  a  place.  This  is  evident  because 
my  good  will  is  not  able  to  express  itself  in  good  conduct  (18). 
The  good  I  wish  to  do,  I  fail  to  do,  and  the  evil  I  wish  not  to  do,  I 
keep  practicing  (19).  This  shows  that  I  in  my  real  self  approve 
the  law,  and  that  Sin  housed  in  my  flesh  is  the  death  dealing  enemy 
I  have  to  fear  (20).  This  then  is  my  desperate  situation,  in  which 
the  law,  good  as  it  is,  has  no  power  to  help  me.  I  find  as  an  es- 
tablished fact  a  fatal  order  in  myself:  I  who  would  do  good  find  a 
tyranny  of  evil  always  present  (21).  My  real  self  looks  with  ap- 
proving delight  upon  God's  law  (22),  but  in  my  lower  nature  and 
its  organs  of  expression  there  is  another  law  than  God's,  warring 
against  the  high  law  of  God  that  my  higher  nature  accepts. 
There  rages  in  my  temptable  members  the  terrible  energy  of  Sin. 
It  wins  the  battle  and  captures  my  soul  (23).  I  am  a  wretched 
man.  Who  can  ever  deliver  my  higher  self  from  this  body  that 
has  afforded  Sin  such  a  secure  fortress  and  that  is  dragging  my 
captive  personality  down  to  the  ruin  of  death  (24)!  (Thank  God 
the  great  deliverance  comes  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.) 
So  let  me  emphasize  once  more  the  fact  that  my  higher  nature 
finds  God's  law  a  holy  agency,  pointing  out  the  way  to  life,  not 
bringing  death  upon  me.  It  is  my  flesh,  serving  the  foul  law  of 
Sin,  that  has  brought  me  into  bondage  and  death  (25)." 

13.  Did  then  that  which  is  good  become  death.  Although  Paul 
has  vigorously  asserted  that  the  law  is  beneficent  (v.  12),  still  those 
Gentile  Christians  that  are  eager  to  claim  Paul  as  sponsor  for 
discarding  the  ethical  standards  of  the  law,  say  Paul  must  admit 

163 


7:13 


7: 14  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

that    which    is    good; — that    through    the    com- 
mandment sin  might  become  exceeding  sinful. 

14.  For  we  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual:  but  I  am 
carnal,  sold  under  sin. 

15.  For  that  which  I  do  I  know  not:  for  not  what 


that  the  law,  though  good  in  itself,  is  deadly  in  its  operation,  an 
electric  current  that  men  would  better  not  touch!  Working 
death  to  me  through  that  which  is  good.  Sin  is  the  deadly  thing. 
The  law  simply  reveals  the  presence  and  peculiarly  venomous 
character  of  Sin,  a  venom  that  shows  itself  in  Sin's  readiness  to 
make  so  good  a  thing  as  the  law  an  instrument  of  death. 

14.  For  we  know  tiiat  the  law  is  spiritual.  Gives  a  reason  why 
the  law  could  not  of  itself  cause  death,  namely,  it  belongs  to  the 
spiritual  sphere,  the  sphere  of  life.  Paul  has  not  forgotten  what 
he  said  in  7 : 6  about  the  law  being  opposed  to  spirit.  The  law 
holds  up  a  spiritual  ideal,  but  is  not  able  to  secure  the  realization 
of  that  ideal  in  an  age  of  flesh.  In  this  way  it  reveals  sin  and  pre- 
pares men  to  look  to  personal  spiritual  sources  for  help.  It  does 
then  belong  to  and  operate  in  the  age  of  flesh,  but  it  is  spiritual 
in  that  it  presents  a  spiritual  ideal — an  ideal  that  Paul's  gospel 
proposes  not  to  discard,  but  to  realize  through  personal  connection 
of  the  believer  with  the  Lord  of  the  spiritual  world.  Carnal. 
There  are  two  Greek  words,  sarkinos  =  fleshy,  made  of  flesh,  and 
sarkikos  =  fleshly,  having  the  nature  of  flesh.  The  latter  is  more 
appropriately  used  of  ethical  relations  but  the  use  of  the  former 
might  be  a  very  emphatic  way  of  expressing  ethical  deficiency. 
Cf.  I  Cor.  3:1-3  where  both  words  appear.  The  manuscripts 
vary  between  the  two  words  here  in  Romans.  Paul  evidently 
knows  that  the  words  flesh  and  spirit  are  in  sufficiently  common 
use  to  be  entirely  intelligible  to  his  readers.  The  word  flesh,  when 
used  ethically,  designates  that  which  proposes  to  take  what  it 
wants  regardless  of  any  other  interest.  The  spirit  is  that  part  of 
a  man  which  would  regard  the  interests  of  others,  God  and  man. 
Paul's  best  description  of  the  two  is  in  Gal.  5:  19-23.  With  the 
ethical  phases  of  flesh  and  spirit  in  human  life  were  associated 
certain  cosmic  phases  which  will  appear  in  ch.  8.  Sold  tmder 
sin.  The  figure  of  course  cannot  be  pressed  so  as  to  show  in  de- 
tail who  sold,  to  whom,  and  for  how  much.  It  simply  expresses 
the  absolute  bondage  to  Sin  which  consists  in  the  thorough  dom- 
inance of  the  flesh,  or  selfish  instinct. 

15.  For  that  which  I  do  I  know  not.  A  slave  often  simply  carries 
out  the  orders  of  his  owner  without  knowing  what  they  mean. 

164 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


I  would   that  do  I  practise;  but  what  I  hate,  that 
I  do. 

1 6.  But  if  what  I  would  not,  that  I  do,  I  consent  unto 
the  law  that  it  is  good. 

17.  So  now  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  which 
dwelleth  in  me. 

Not  only  so  but  what  I  hate  that  I  do.  A  slave  often  does  for  his 
master  what  is  personally  repulsive  to  him.  This  absolute  bond- 
age to  Sin  of  course  characterizes  the  man  who  has  not  yet  been 
set  at  liberty  by  his  alliance  in  faith  with  the  personality  of  the 
Lord  of  the  spirit  world  (6:  12-14;  8:  1-17).  It  seems  to  indicate 
that  Paul  himself  had  passed  through  some  terrible  inner  struggle 
in  the  period  before  he  met  Jesus  Christ,  though  so  far  as  current 
Pharisaic  standards  of  outward  conduct  were  concerned,  he  had 
been  recognized  as  a  man  of  exemplary  life  (Phil.  3:6).  His 
interpretation  of  his  own  inner  struggle  may  be  somewhat  colored 
by  the  struggles  that  he  had  seen  in  the  lives  of  men  in  the  slums 
whose  consciences  had  been  quickened  by  his  preaching,  and  who 
did  not  quickly  find  the  liberty  of  the  life  of  faith. 

16.  I  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good.  Even  the  man  in 
the  midst  of  the  deadly  struggle  into  which  the  law  has  plunged 
him,  must  admit  it.  The  law  is  beautiful  and  noble,  not  a  death 
dealing  power. 

17.  It  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin.  Paul's  practical  purpose 
needs  to  be  kept  clearly  in  mind  here  and  in  the  following  verses. 
This  purpose  is  to  secure  on  the  part  of  the  Gentile  Christians 
such  loyalty  to  the  ethical  standards  of  the  law  (made  possible 
by  their  faith  union  with  Christ)  as  will  keep  them  from  licentious 
lives.  He  wishes  to  make  them  realize  the  awful  peril  of  trifling 
with  sin  (cf.  6:  12-14,  19-22;  7:4;  8:  12-13).  So  he  first  clears 
the  law  from  all  suspicions  that  would  lead  to  discarding  its 
ethical  standards,  and  then  proceeds  to  picture  for  them  the  terri- 
ble tragedy  of  the  soul  that  was  being  lost  before  Christ  found  it. 
Incidentally  also  this  procedure  contributes  to  his  fundamental 
desire  to  state  a  platform  to  which  all,  Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles, 
may  be  invited.  He  shows  the  Jew  how  helpless  the  law  is  apart 
from  Christ  to  secure  the  realization  of  its  own  ideal.  Even  the 
man  who  "consents  to  the  law  that  it  is  good,"  and  so  constitutes 
the  most  favorable  case  imaginable,  cannot  be  brought  by  the  law 
to  the  moral  victory  of  the  spiritual  life.  He  shows  the  Gentile 
that  the  ethical  standard  of  the  law  must  and  can  be  met  through 
spiritual  fellowship  with  Christ. 

165 


7:i8  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

1 8.  For  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh, 
dwelleth  no  good  thing :  for  to  will  is  present  with 
me,  but  to  do  that  which  is  good  is  not. 

19.  For  the  good  which  I  would  I  do  not :  but  the  evil 
which  I  would  not,  that  I  practise. 

20.  But  if  what  I  would  not,  that  I  do,  it  is  no  more  I 
that  do  it,  but  sin  which  dwelleth  in  me. 


In  picturing  the  terrible  struggle  of  the  soul  that  was  being 
lost,  Paul  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  professional  teacher  of  the 
psychology  of  religion.  He  is  stating,  doubtless  in  terms  of  the 
popular  psychology  of  his  day,  which  he  assumes  will  be  perfectly 
intelligible  to  the  little  groups  of  commonplace  Christians  in 
Rome,  the  great  facts  of  personal  experience  in  the  struggle  against 
Sin.  He  pictures  two  elements  in  man's  personality.  The  higher 
one  is  called  "the  inner  man"  (v.  12),  "the  mind"  (v.  23), 
and  the  "I,"  which  is  in  sympathy  with  the  "spiritual  law" 
(vs.  14,  16)  and  therefore,  in  some  sense  at  least,  "spiritual" 
and  "spirit"  (cf.  8:  16).  The  lower  element  is  called  "the  flesh," 
*'the  members"  (v.  23),  "the  body"  (8:  13).  In  addition  to  these 
two  elements  there  seems  to  be  a  personal  power  called  "Sin" 
from  without,  that  finds  congenial  housing  in  the  "flesh"  and, 
when  fortified  there,  dominates  the  whole  personality  against  the 
futile  protest  of  the  higher  element.  The  personalizing  of  Sin 
might  naturally  be  due  to  the  influence  of  the  narrative  in  Gen. 
3,  where  the  serpent  with  its  evil  purpose  antedates  Adam's  sin 
(cf.  II  Cor.  11:3).  How  vital  a  part  of  Paul's  thought  this  seemed 
to  him  to  be  is  not  apparent.  In  his  description  of  the  sinful 
Gentile  world  (i :  18-32)  he  makes  no  reference  to  it. 

18.  In  me.  Here  the  pronoun  designates  the  whole  personality 
including  "flesh"  but  is  so  qualified  as  to  recognize  the  special 
reference  of  the  word  to  the  higher  element  in  vs.  19-20.  In  my 
flesh  dwelleth  no  good  thing.  And  yet  to  Paul  the  flesh  is  not 
inherently  bad,  for  Christ  possessed  "flesh"  (8:  3)  and  "the  saints" 
all  still  have  "flesh"  (8:  12).  The  "body,"  which  in  some  uses  of 
the  word  seems  equivalent  to  "flesh,"  could  be  laid  on  God's  altar 
as  a  holy  offering  (12:  i),  and  "the  members"  could  be  presented 
to  God  as  tools  of  righteousness  (6:13).  It  does,  however,  easily 
afford  housing  to  Sin,  and  the  combination  of  "Sin  in  the  flesh" 
keeps  the  "I"  from  doing  the  good  that  it  wills  to  do, 

20.  It  is  no  more  I  that  do  it.  And  yet  this  does  not  exculpate 
the  "I"  since  men  are  "inexcusable"  for  sinning  (i:  22;   2:  i)! 

166 


THE   EPISTLE   TO  THE   ROMANS 


7:25 


21.  I  find  then  the  law,  that,  to  me  who  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present. 

22.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward 
man: 

23.  but  I  see  a  different  law  in  my  members,  warring 
against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into 
captivity  under  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  mem- 
bers. 

24.  O  wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me 
out  of  the  body  of  this  death? 

25.  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
So  then  I  myself  with  the  mind  serve  the  law  of 
God:  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin. 


There  almost  seems  to  be  in  the  background  another  "I,"  an 
inexcusable  "I,"  that  lets  the  Sin  inhabited  flesh  conquer  the 
"I"  that  wills  to  do  right. 

21.  The  law.     The  principle  or  the  established  order. 

22.  After  the  inward  man.  Perhaps  so  called  because  the 
physical  flesh  is  the  outer  coating.  It  is  perhaps  significant  that 
the  element  at  the  center,  the  inner  man,  the  "I,"  is  on  God's  side 
and  approves  of  God's  law,  while  the  evil  element  is  the  more 
superficial. 

23.  Bringing  me  into  captivity.  Yet  this  very  citadel  of  per- 
sonality is  captured  by  Sin.  The  law  of  sin.  The  principle,  or  the 
control,  enforced  by  Sin. 

24.  The  body  of  this  death.  The  body  smitten  with  this  ter- 
rible death.  The  "I"  is  a  prisoner  in  a  body  inhabited  by  Sin 
and  condemned  to  death.  Somewhat  similar  ideas  were  current 
in  and  before  Paul's  time.  "Our  soul  is  dead  and  buried  in  our 
body  as  if  in  a  tomb.  But  if  it  w^ere  to  die,  then  our  soul 
would  live  according  to  its  proper  life,  being  released  from  the 
evil  and  dead  body  to  which  it  is  bound"  (Philo,  On  the  Allegories^ 
!,  33,  expounding  and  endorsing  Heraclitus).  But  Paul  will  show 
a  way  unknown  to  Philo  by  which  this  life  in  the  "tomb"  can  be 
glorified,  and  the  "tomb"  itself  be  made  the  "temple  of  God." 

25.  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  As  the  text 
ptands  this  is  a  parenthetical  outburst,  as  if  Paul  could  not  wait 
to   finish  his  period  before  telling  the  good  news  of  release.     Or 

167 


8: 1  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

5.  The  secret  of  the  faith-righteous  man's  victory  and 
hope.  Those  who  have  entered  into  faith -fellow- 
ship with  Jesus  Christ  are  victorious  in  this  ter- 
rible struggle  against  Sin  in  the  flesh.  The  Spirit 
of  God  has  so  re-enforced  their  higher  nature  as  to 
give  them  victory  over  sin  and  therefore  assurance 
of  a  glorious  career  with  Christ  Jesus  in  the  Age 
to  come,  8: 1-30. 

perhaps  his  Christian  amanuensis  put  in  the  parenthesis  on  his 
own  account  (cf.  16:  22).  So  then.  A  summing  up  of  the  whole 
discussion.  The  better  nature  approves  the  law  of  God,  recog- 
nizes that  it  is  not  sinful  {\\  7)  and  is  not  intended  to  produce 
death  (v.  13).  But  its  fatal  inefficiency  lies  in  the  fact  that  Sin 
in  the  flesh  prevents  the  realization  of  its  ideals.  The  thought  of 
8:1  ff.  is  logically  connected  with  what  has  preceded,  but  the 
verbal  connection  is  not  close  as  in  the  case  of  6:  I  with  5:20, 
6:  15  with  6:  14,  7:  7  with  7:  5,  7:  13  with  7:  12.  We  may  sup- 
pose that  Paul  stopped  dictating  here  and  after  an  interval  of 
some  hours  or  days  began  again  with  8:1. 

(i)   The  spiritual  nature  of  the  faith-righteous  man  has  been  so 
re-enforced  by  the  Spirit  of  God  as  to  be  released  from  bond- 
age to  Sin  in  the  flesh,  enabled  to  meet  the  ethical  demands 
of  the  law  and  be  sure  of  life  even  for  the  body  as  well 
as  the  spirit.     Therefore  no  dalliance  with  the  flesh! 
{8:1-14). 
"There  is  then,  as  we  have  been  saying  in  all  our  argument,  no 
verdict  of  condemnation  to  be  feared  in  the  judgment  day  by  those 
who  are  living  in  faith  union  with  Christ  Jesus  (i).     The  life 
giving  Spirit  that  resides  in  him,  and  also  in  them  by  virtue  of 
their  faith-union  with  him,  has  established  its  control  in  their 
lives  and  so  freed  them  from  the  control  of  Sin  and  death  (2). 
This  termination  of  the  control  of  Sin  and  death  the  law  was  im- 
potent to  secure  because  man's  lower  nature  would  never  obey 
the  law's  commands.     But  God  by  sending  his  own  Son,  possessed 
of  the  nature  that  in  other  men  is  so  hospitable  to  Sin,  with  the 
purpose  of  having  him  deal  at  close  range  with  the  power  of  Sin, 
succeeded  in  condemning  Sin  to  expulsion  from  its  domain  in  the 
lower  nature  of  man  (3).     This  God  did  with  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  realization  of  the  law's  ideal  in  lives  that  are  no 
longer  lived  in  accord  with  the  impulses  of  the  lower  nature,  but 

168 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


8.  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them 
that  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 

in  accord  with  the  higher  nature  that  is  akin  to,  and  now  con- 
trolled by,  the  Spirit  of  God  (4).  It  was  this  victory  of  the 
higher  nature  that  had  to  be  won,  for  they  that  are  in  accord  with 
the  lower  nature  fix  their  attention  upon  the  gratification  of  its 
demands,  while  they  that  are  in  accord  with  the  higher  nature  fix 
their  attention  upon  the  fulfillment  of  its  desire  (5),  and  to  do 
the  former  results  in  the  ruin  of  death,  while  to  do  the  latter 
means  life  and  peace  (6).  Attention  fixed  upon  the  lower  nature 
is  hostility  to  God,  for  it  is  open  rebellion  against  God's  law,  and 
in  the  nature  of  the  case  must  be,  for  God's  law  requires  love,  while 
the  lower  nature  is  thoroughly  unloving  (7).  So  they  that  live  in 
accord  with  the  lower  nature  necessarily  cannot  please  God  (8). 
But  you  are  living,  not  in  accord  with  the  lower  nature,  but  in 
accord  with  the  higher,  spiritual  nature,  for  I  certainly  may  as- 
sume that  the  mighty  Spirit  of  God  has  allied  himself  with  your 
higher  nature.  Of  course,  whenever  this  is  not  so,  and  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  in  whom  God's  Spirit  dwells  in  fulness  is  not  in  a  man, 
then  that  man  does  not  belong  to  Christ  and  has  no  place  among 
those  whom  Christ  saves  (9).  But  if  Christ  is  in  you,  then  the 
body  to  be  sure  is  still  death-smitten  because  it  is  a  part  of  the 
sphere  of  Sin  and  death;  but  the  higher  spiritual  nature  is  free 
from  death  because,  re-enforced  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  it  is  able 
to  live  the  righteous  life  (10).  Moreover  there  is  victory  also 
for  the  body,  since  the  Spirit  of  him  who  raised  Jesus'  body  from 
the  dead  lives  in  you.  He  that  raised  Jesus'  dead  body  in 
new  and  glorious  form  will  do  the  same  for  yours,  since  the  same 
mighty  resurrecting  Spirit  dwells  in  you  that  dwelt  in  him  (11). 
So  then,  Brothers,  bear  well  in  mind,  no  matter  what  some  mis- 
guided and  misnamed  Christians  may  say  to  the  contrary,  that 
we  are  under  no  obligation  to  gratify  the  demands  of  our  lower 
flesh  nature  while  in  this  world  of  flesh  (12).  If  you  do  live  in 
accord  with  the  flesh,  the  fatal  ruin  of  death  will  blight  and  des- 
troy all  your  being.  But  if,  with  the  re-enforcement  that  your 
spiritual  natures  have  received  from  the  Spirit  of  God,  you  mer- 
cilessly put  to  death  the  evil  practices  of  your  lower  nature,  your 
whole  being  will  have  the  life  that  reaches  its  fulness  in  the  Spirit 
Age  to  come  (13).  For  it  is  those  now  being  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  who  will  take  their  place  among  the  sons  of  God  in  the  Spirit 
Age  to  come  (14)." 

I.  Therefore.  Since  Jesus  Christ  has  delivered  us  (7:25). 
No  condemnation.  In  the  coming  messianic  judgment.  The 
verdict  of  the  judgment  day  has  already  been  pronounced  (cf.  5: 

169 


8:2  THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

2.  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  Hfe  in  Christ  Jesus 
made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death. 

3.  For  what  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was 
weak  through  the  flesh,  God,  sending  his  own  Son 
in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh  and  as  an  offering 
for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh: 

i).     In    Christ    Jesus.     United    with    him    in    the    spiritual 
fellowship  of  faith. 

2.  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life.  The  control  of  the  life  giving 
Spirit.  Two  laws  or  controlling  agencies  have  been  spoken  of 
in  7:  23-25.  One  of  these,  "the  law  of  my  mind,"  has  now  been 
victoriously  re-enforced  by  the  energy  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  In 
Christ  Jesus.  The  Spirit  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  Cf .  v.  1 1  where  it 
is  implied  that  through  the  presence  of  the  life  giving  Spirit  in 
Christ  God  raised  him  from  the  dead. 

3.  What  the  law  could  not  do.  Namely,  enforce  its  own  ethical 
ideals,  which  the  flesh  so  violently  and  successfully  resented.  It 
could  simply  command  and  threaten  but  could  not  secure  obedi- 
ence. The  structure  of  the  sentence  is  broken.  It  begins  as  if 
it  would  read:  "What  the  law  could  not  do,  God  did  by  sending 
etc."  In  the  likeness  of.  No  implication  of  unreality  in  Jesus' 
body,  but  of  the  sinlessness  which  Paul's  readers  attribute  to 
Christ  (cf.  II  Cor.  5:21)  and  of  previous  existence  as  God's  Son 
in  another  than  flesh  form  (cf.  Phil.  2:7).  Sinful  flesh — or  Sin's 
flesh,  that  is  flesh  that  readily  houses  Sin  (7:  18).  For  sin. 
"With  reference  to  sin."  The  phrase  "as  an  off"ering"  is  not 
in  the  Greek.  Paul  may  have  in  mind  the  figure  of  Christ's 
death  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  a  figure  which  he  occasionally  uses. 
The  Greek  phrase  used  here  is  used  frequently  of  the  sin  offer- 
ings in  the  LXX  of  Leviticus,  but  in  a  context  in  which  offer- 
ings are  clearly  being  discussed.  Here  it  has  more  probably  the 
general  meaning,  "to  do  something  about  sin,"  namely  the  thing 
that  is  stated  in  the  next  phrase.  Condemned  sin  in  the  flesh. 
Condemned  Sin  to  cease  the  control  or  dominion  which  it  had 
been  exercising  over  the  personality  and  over  the  whole  race  of 
flesh  men  through  the  advantage  that  its  hold  on  the  flesh  gave  it. 
The  reign  of  Sin  and  death  in  the  personality  and  in  the  race  has 
been  very  prominent  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  (5:  14,  17,  21; 
6:9,  12,  14,  17;  7:  14-25).  What  Christ  did  to  end  this  reign 
Paul  does  not  state  here.  He  has  before  represented  Christ's 
death  and  resurrection  into  the  glorious  spirit  world  to  have  been 
the  means  of  founding  a  new  race  (5:  12-21)  free  from  the  power 

170 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  8:6 

4.  that  the  ordinance  of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled 
in  us,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 
spirit. 

5.  For  they  that  are  after  the  flesh  do  mind  the  things 
of  the  flesh;  but  they  that  are  after  the  spirit 
the  things  of  the  spirit. 

6.  For  the  mind  of  the  flesh  is  death;  but  the  mind 
of  the  spirit  is  life  and  peace: 

of  Sin  and  death  in  all  its  individual  members  (6:  1-7:6).  On 
the  special  significance  of  the  death  of  Jesus  in  this  process  see  the 
discussion  of  3:  24  ff. 

4.  The  ordinance  of  the  law.  What  the  law  pronounces  right. 
Perhaps  the  singular  number  implies  emphasis  of  the  law's  ideal 
rather  than  of  its  detailed  commandments.  This  ideal  is  the  life 
of  love.  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law"  (13:  8-10).  Walk  not 
after  the  flesh  but  after  the  spirit.  They  live  the  unselfish  life  in 
accord  with  the  desires  of  the  higher  nature  (7:  22),  and  not  the 
selfish  life  of  the  lower,  flesh  nature.  This  they  are  able  to  do 
because  the  higher  nature  has  been  re-enforced  by  God's  Spirit 
(v.  2).  The  way  in  which  "spirit"  and  "flesh"  without  the  article 
are  contrasted  here  indicates  that  it  is  "spirit"  and  "flesh"  in 
general  that  are  meant,  not  simply  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  indi- 
vidual's flesh.  Paul  clearly  regards  "spirit"  as  the  proper  desig- 
nation of  an  element  in  the  believer's  personality  (8:  10,  16). 
Whether  he  would  apply  this  word  to  the  higher  element  in  the 
personality  still  enslaved  to  Sin  is  uncertain.  He  used  other 
terms  in  7:  14-25.  In  I  Cor.  5:  5  and  II  Cor.  7:  i  he  uses  the 
term  in  speaking  of  those  who  sin,  but  in  both  cases  they  are 
Christians  who  have  sinned. 

5.  After  the  flesh.  In  accord  with,  or  subject  to,  the  flesh. 
Mind  the  things  of  the  flesh.  Give  the  mind,  or  the  attention,  to 
gratifying  the  selfish  demands  of  the  lower  nature.  "What  gets 
your  attention,  gets  you."  The  things  of  the  spirit.  The  unsel- 
fish desires  of  the  higher  nature  now  re-enforced  by  the  Spirit  of 
God. 

6.  The  mind  of  the  flesh.  Such  attention  or  thought  as  the 
flesh  demands.  Death  is  a  ruinous  blight  that  falls  on  the  whole 
personality,  affecting  both  soul  and  body.  As  it  affects  the  soul 
it  shows  itself  in  a  painful,  paralyzing  estrangement  from  God  and 
men  that  is  the  necessary  consequence  of  selfishness  in  the  per- 
sonality of  the  selfish  man.     Its  effect  upon  the  body  Paul,  fol- 

171 


8:7  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

7.  because  the  mind  of  the  flesh  is  enmity  against 
God;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God, 
neither  indeed  can  it  be: 

8.  and  they  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God. 

9.  But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh  but  in  the  spirit,  if  so 
be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you.  But  if 
any  man  hath  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none 
of  his. 

10.  And  if  Christ  is  in  you,  the  body  is  dead  because  of 
sin;  but  the  spirit  is  life  because  of  righteousness. 

1 1 .  But  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from 
the  dead  dwelleth  in  you,  he  that  raised  up  Christ 

lowing  the  narrative  in  Genesis,  considers  to  be  a  remediless 
physical  dissolution  (cf.  5:  14),  Life  and  peace.  Life  also  con- 
cerns both  soul  and  body.  As  it  concerns  the  soul  it  consists  in 
such  loving  unselfish  adjustment  to  other  personalities,  God  and 
men,  as  results  in  the  normal  development  and  activity  of  the 
highest  powers.  Its  "peace"  is  contrasted  with  the  ruinous  con- 
fusion, the  painful  disorder  of  the  personality  upon  which  the 
blight  of  death  has  fallen.  As  it  affects  the  body  it  does  not  elim- 
inate the  necessity  of  physical  dissolution,  but  it  makes  such  dis- 
solution a  matter  of  no  consequence  by  involving  the  possession  of 
a  new  and  better  body  (vs.  lo-ii,  21-25;  I  Cor.  15:50-53;  II 
Cor.  5:  1-2). 

8.  Cannot  please  God.  Because  God  is  love  and  the  man  who 
is  "in  the  flesh"  is  in  the  nature  of  the  case  unloving.  Two  per- 
sons going  in  opposite  directions  cannot  travel  together. 

9.  The  Spirit  of  Christ.  This  expression  seems  to  be  synony- 
mous with  "Spirit  of  God"  in  the  last  sentence  and  with  "Christ" 
in  the  next  sentence.  God's  Spirit  is  Christ's  Spirit  because 
God's  Spirit  is  fully  in  Christ,  and  Christ  brings  it  with  him  into 
the  life  of  the  believer.  In  II  Cor.  13:  14  language  is  used  that 
indicates  some  clearer  distinction.  If  Paul's  mind  worked  upon 
the  metaphysical  questions  connected  with  the  personality  of  God, 
he  has  not  left  the  workings  of  his  mind  on  record.  None  of  his. 
Because  those  who  belong  to  him  are,  in  the  very  nature  of  faith, 
in  personal  spiritual  fellowship  with  him. 

10.  Is  dead  because  of  sin.  Physical  dissolution  is  certain  to 
occur  in  due  time,  because  the  body  is  a  part  of  the  world  in 

172 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


Jesus  from  the  dead  shall  quicken  also  your  mortal 
bodies  through  his  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you. 

12.  So  then,  brethren,  we  are  debtors,  not  to  the  flesh, 
to  live  after  the  flesh: 

13.  for  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  must  die;  but  if 
by  the  spirit  ye  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body, 
ye  shall  live. 

14.  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  these 
are  sons  of  God. 


which  Sin  and  death  reign.     Because  of  righteousness.     The 
spirit  is  now  able  to  Hve  the  righteous  Hfe. 

11.  See  on  v.  6.  The  believer  has  now  in  him  the  same  power- 
ful Spirit  that  was  in  Christ,  and  so  may  expect  that  Spirit  to  do 
for  his  mortal  body  what  it  did  for  Christ's  mortal  body. 
Whether  this  means  to  Paul  the  transformation  of  a  dead  or  dying 
body  into  a  new  kind  of  living  body,  or  the  replacing  of  the  one 
by  the  other  is  not  entirely  clear.  Cf.  H  Cor.  5:1-2  with  Phil. 
3:  21  and  I  Cor.  15:  52. 

12.  So  then,  brethren.  Again  an  exhortation  to  the  readers, 
as  in  6:  12,  20.  Debtors  not  to  the  flesh.  Perhaps  the  argument 
had  sometimes  been  that  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  had  a  certain  right 
to  gratification.     It  was  their  due.     (I  Cor.  6:  13-17). 

13.  Mortify.  Put  to  death.  Make  an  end  of  selfish  living. 
Deeds  of  the  body.  "Body"  is  used  instead  of  "flesh,"  be- 
cause the  thought  of  v.  11  is  being  carried  on.  Ye  shall  live — 
in  the  Coming  Age  of  spirit. 

14.  Sons  of  God.  A  new  thought  begins  here,  which  springs 
out  of  the  idea  of  life  in  the  Coming  Age  with  which  v.  13  closed. 
Anyone  who  is  brought  by  resurrection  into  the  spirit  world 
(v.  11)  is  thereby  constituted  a  son  of  God.  This  was  an  idea  cur- 
rent in  Pauline  circles,  Luke  represents  Jesus  to  have  said  that 
after  the  resurrection  "they  are  equal  unto  the  angels  and  are 
sons  of  God,  being  sons  of  the  resurrection"  (Lk.  20:  36).  In  Ps. 
29:  I  (LXX  28:  i)  and  Ps.  89:  6  (LXX  88:  7)  the  Greek  transla- 
tion calls  the  angels  "sons  of  God."  So  also  in  the  Hebrew  of 
Job  1 :  6,  2:  I,  38:  7,  but  not  in  the  Greek  translation  v\^hich  reads 
"angels"  instead  of  "sons."  (Cf.  Enoch  69:4-5,  71:  i,  Charles, 
emended  text).  If  this  be  the  underlying  thought,  then  those 
who  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  are  already  practically  intro- 
duced into  the  spirit  world  where  beings  are  called  "sons  of  God." 

173 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


(2)  We  who  are  being  led  on  by  God's  Spirit  in  victory  over  the 
flesh  are  made  by  Him  to  feel  that  we  are  sons  0}  God, 
brothers  of  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  and  therefore  sure  to 
inherit  with  Him  a  glorious  career  in  the  New  Age  when 
all  nature  shall  be  glorified  by  emancipation  from  decay 
and  death,  8: 15-30. 
"It  is  with  no  fearful  spirit  of  bondage  like  that  which  possessed 
us  under  Sin's  dominion  that  we  now  face  the  future,  but  rather 
with  the  victorious  spirit  of  those  who  know  that  they  have  al- 
ready practically  been  adopted  by  God  as  sons  of  the  spirit  world 
and  will  soon  receive  the  bodily  evidence  of  it  (cf.  v.  23).  It  is 
because  of  this  practical  adoption  that  we  find  ourselves  both  in 
private  and  in  our  public  meetings  crying  out  "Father,  Father" 
in  great  stress  of  spirit,  as  did  our  Lord  (cf.  Mk.  14:36)  (15). 
This  outcry  shows  that  God's  Spirit  is  within  us  giving  assurance 
to  our  spirits  that  we  are  indeed  God's  beloved  children  (16),  and  if 
children  of  course  heirs,  heirs  of  God  himself,  destined  to  inherit 
the  life  of  the  Coming  Age,  associate  heirs  with  Christ,  the  Lord 
of  the  Coming  Age,  if  we  now  faithfully  suffer  the  figurative  death 
of  the  body  (cf.  6:  4)  and  the  persecutions  (cf.  5:  2-5)  to  which  we 
are  subject  because  of  our  faith  union  with  him,  in  order  that  we 
may  shine  forth  with  him  in  bodies  radiant  with  love  in  the  Com- 
ing Age  (17).  Such  sufferings  in  this  present  age  are  not  to  be 
compared  for  a  moment  with  the  holy  radiance  of  that  life  which 
will  soon  be  revealed  to  and  in  us  (18).  It  will  include  not  only 
ourselves  but  all  the  world  of  nature  in  w^hich  we  now  live.  All 
nature  is  eagerly  waiting  for  the  time  to  come  when  we  as  sons 
of  God  shall  receive  the  glorious  bodies  that  are  to  be  ours  in  the 
New  Age  (19).  For  nature  does  not  wdllingly  acquiesce  in  the 
disintegration  and  futile  emptying  out  of  life  to  which  all  its 
processes  lead.  It  was  subjected  to  such  disadvantage  by  God 
himself  (cf.  Gen.  3:  17-18),  but  subjected  by  him  in  hope  (20) 
that  the  time  would  come  when  it  would  be  released  from  the 
law  of  decay  and  death  and  be  granted  the  same  radiance  of  im- 
perishable life  which  the  children  of  God  are  to  possess  (21).  It 
does  not  willingly  acquiesce,  I  say,  for  we  know  that  all  nature  in 
all  its  parts  has  long  been  groaning  in  the  birth  pangs  of  the  New 
Age  (22).  This  distress  is  not  confined  to  nature,  for  we  ourselves, 
who  in  the  possession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  already  have  the  begin- 
nings of  the  life  of  the  New  Age,  are  also  groaning  with  longing 
as  we  wait  for  God  to  take  the  last  step  in  the  act  of  adoption, 
which  will  put  us  among  the  sons  of  God  in  the  spirit  world,  I 
mean  the  freeing  of  our  bodies  from  the  law  of  decay  and  death 
and  their  transformation  into  the  glorious  form  that  shall  be 
theirs  (23).  It  was  the  hopeful  expectation  of  this  that  we  began 
to  cherish  when  we  were  first  united  by  faith  with  Christ  and  so 

174 


THE  EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS  8:15 

15.  For  ye  received  not  the  spirit  of  bondage  again 
unto  fear;  but  ye  received  the  spirit  of  adoption, 
whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father. 

were  assured  of  sah^ation  from  this  age  and  its  judgment  day. 
Of  course,  we  did  not  see  it,  for  then  there  would  have  been  no 
occasion  to  hope  for  it  (24).  But  because  we  do  not  see  it,  we 
have  a  chance  to  show  our  patience  in  the  steadiness  of  our  hope 
(25) .  We  are  oppressed  by  the  presence  of  the  body,  and  our  hope 
of  deliverance  from  it  is  sometimes  weak,  but  in  all  our  weakness 
the  Spirit,  who  helped  us  into  the  beginnings  of  our  sense  of  son- 
ship,  helps  us  still.  He  helps  our  weak  spirits  as  they,  not  know- 
ing how  to  frame  their  petitions,  try  to  lift  themselves  in  prayer. 
He  takes  the  groanings  born  of  cur  earnest  longing  for  the  Coming 
Age,  too  intense  for  speech,  and  presents  them  for  us  before  the 
face  of  God  (26).  When  the  heart-searching  God  finds  these  in- 
articulate petitions  in  hearts  possessed  by  his  Spirit,  he  knows 
well  what  they  mean,  for  his  Spirit  is  always  presenting  our  needs 
before  God  in  sympathy  with  the  mind  of  God  himself  (27). 
And  so  we  present  our  inarticulate  petitions  for  the  glory  of  the 
New  Age  with  strong  hope,  for  we  know  that  with  us  who  love 
him  God  works  in  all  ways  to  secure  this  great  good  that  we  de- 
sire. With  us  who  love  him,  I  say,  for  we  are  those  whom  he  has 
called  into  this  love  with  purpose  to  give  the  glory  of  the  New 
Age  to  us  (28).  We  were  in  his  mind  ages  ago.  Even  then  he 
determined  that  we  should  be  like  his  Son  in  the  possession  of 
bodies  radiant  with  love,  so  that  his  Son  might  rule  like  a  first 
born  over  a  multitude  of  brothers  (29).  Then  he  called  us  through 
his  Son  with  a  loving  insistence  that  we  did  not  resist,  and  when 
we  came  to  his  Son  in  penitent  faith  he  declared  us  righteous  even 
before  the  judgment  day.  Surely  we  may  count  ourselves  already 
among  the  glorified!  (30)." 

15.  For  ye  received  not.  Past  tense  referring  to  the  time  when 
the  new  relationship  began.  Spirit  of  bondage  again  unto  fear. 
The  relation  to  Sin  in  the  flesh  had  been  bondage  (7:  14)  with 
constant  fear  of  penalty.  Paul  had  also,  with  some  apology, 
presented  the  new  relation  to  righteousness  as  bondage  (6: 18- 
19).  Now  he  lifts  the  relationship  from  that  of  slave  to  that  of 
son.  Spirit  of  adoption.  Spirit  or  disposition  that  is  suitable  in 
one  who  is  adopted.  The  adoption  is  the  act  by  which  one  is 
made  a  son,  that  is,  an  inhabitant  of  the  spirit  world.  (See  on 
V.  14).  This  act  now  practically  performed  (v.  16)  will  be  com- 
pleted when  a  resurrection  body,  redeemed  from  the  power  of 
decay   and  death  and   suited  to  existence  in   the  spirit  world, 

175 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


1 6.  The    Spirit    himself    beareth    witness    with    our 
spirit,  that  we  are  children  of  God: 

17.  and  if  children,   then   heirs;   heirs  of   God,   and 

shall  be  provided.  We  "are  waiting  for  our  adoption  to  wit:  the 
redemption  of  our  body"  (v.  23).  In  Roman  law  the  relation 
of  an  adopted  son  to  the  father  was  as  close  and  indestructible 
as  that  of  a  son  by  birth.*  Whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father.  This 
disposition  of  "sons  of  God"  or  "sons  of  the  resurrection"  (Lk. 
20:  36),  expresses  itself  in  the  cry,  "Abba  Father"  which  seems  to 
have  been  a  common  expression  in  prayer.  Abba  is  the  Aramaic 
word  for  Father.  Apparently  the  Aramaic  word  and  its  Greek 
translation  had  come  to  form  one  title  (cf.  Mk.  14:  36;  Gal.  4:  6). 
It  may  have  been  used  in  the  prayers  of  the  synagogue  among  the 
Jews  of  the  dispersion,  where  fragments  of  Aramaic  would  easily 
survive  in  Greek  speech.  Or  Gentile  Christians  may  have  kept 
the  first  word  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Aramaic  "Abba"  (J.  H. 
Moulton).  This  "outcry"  of  the  soul  to  the  Father  shows  that 
"adoption"  is  not  conceived  by  Paul  as  a  mere  mechanical  or 
physical  setting  of  a  person  over  from  the  flesh  to  the  spirit  world. 
It  is  an  experience  which  has  both  a  physical  and  deeply  emotional 
side,  just  as  the  word  "glory"  when  applied  to  the  future  life  by 
Paul  has  an  ethical  and  a  material  aspect,  moral  excellence  with 
radiance  of  form. 

16.  The  Spirit  himself  beareth  witness.  How  does  the  Spirit 
bear  witness?  Presumably  by  instigating  the  cry,  "Abba 
Father."  But  why  attribute  this  cry  to  the  Spirit's  instigation? 
Perhaps  because  Paul  directly  felt  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  because  it 
was  a  logical  inference  from  the  prophecy  so  much  emphasized  in 
the  early  church  (cf.  Acts  2 :  16  ff.),  that  in  the  last  days  the  Spirit 
would  operate  among  men,  and  because  the  utterance  of  this  cry 
often  accompanied  the  gift  of  prophecy  or  tongues  (I  Cor.  12) 
naturally  interpreted  as  effects  of  the  Spirit's  presence.  With 
our  spirit,  as  if  spirit  were  a  constituent  element  at  least  of  the 
believer's  personality ;  see  on  v.  4.  Children  of  God.  Children 
is  perhaps  a  warmer  word  than  sons,  more  suggestive  of  the  close 
loving  personal  relationship  now  being  emphasized,  since  "sons 
of  God"  was  the  somewhat  technical  designation  of  the  angelic 
inhabitants  of  the  spirit  world. 

17.  Heirs.  The  idea  of  "inheriting"  the  Coming  Age  was  a 
common  Jewish  idea  (cf.  4:  13).  "The  meek  shall  inherit  the 
earth,"  Mt.  5:5.  Cf.Mt.  25:34.  The  Roman  "heir"  had 
recognized   right   and   standing   while   the   testator   still   lived. 

*(SeeMuntz,  Rome,  St.  Paul  and  the  Early  Church,  Chs.  5-7.) 
176 


THE   EPISTLE   TO  THE   ROMANS  8:20 

joint-heirs  with  Christ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer 
with  him  that  we  may  be  also  glorified  with  him. 

1 8.  For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present 
time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
glory  which  shall  be  revealed  to  us- ward. 

19.  For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creation  waiteth 
for  the  revealing  of  the  sons  of  God. 

20.  For  the  creation  was  subjected  to  vanity,  not  of 

Joint  heirs  with  Christ.  Christ  has  passed  into  the  spirit  world 
and  so  has  "inherited"  it.  Now  through  the  intimate  faith  rela- 
tionship existing  between  Christ  and  the  spirits  of  believers  they 
already  have  potentially  "inherited"  a  place  with  him  in  the 
spirit  world,  and  are  therefore  associate  heirs  with  him.  Be 
glorified  with  him.  They  will  soon  receive  the  "glorified"  spirit- 
ual body  (I  Cor.  15:43-44,  50-52)  like  Christ's  (Phil.  3:20-21). 
In  order  that  this  may  happen  they  must  be  ready  to  suffer  with 
him,  that  is,  suffer  the  death  with  him  that  was  symbolized  by 
baptism  (6:4),  and  resolutely  "put  to  death  the  deeds  of  the 
body"  (v.  13).  To  do  this  in  existing  social  relations  will  involve 
"persecution,"  "tribulation,"  and  even  the  "sword"  (v.  35).  Cf. 
5:2-5;  Col.  1:24. 

18.  The  glory  which  shall  be  revealed.  The  glorified  spirit 
bodies  referred  to  in  the  preceding  verse,  and  all  their  glorified 
environment  in  the  spirit  world  described  in  the  following  verses. 
All  this  material  or  physical  glory  is  intimately  associated  with 
the  idea  of  moral  excellence.  It  is  primarily  moral  excellence 
shining  out  in  physical  radiance.  This  idea  which  meant  so  much 
to  Paul  is  somewhat  foreign  to  our  modes  of  thought,  yet  it  readily 
lends  itself  to  the  presuppositions  of  our  thought.  It  suggests 
the  immortal  spirit  working  triumphantly  and  with  invincible 
good  will  upon  a  suitable  environment  through  some  form  of  self 
manifestation,  that  is,  some  kind  of  "body." 

19.  For.  The  greatness  of  the  glory  is  emphasized  by  showing 
that  it  involves  a  transformation  of  all  the  natural  world.  Ear- 
nest expectation.  The  Greek  word  means  watching  with  out- 
stretched head,  that  is,  in  suspense.  The  revealing  of  the  sons 
of  God.  The  time  when  they  will  stand  out  in  their  glorious 
spiritual  bodies,  openly  revealed  as  "sons  of  God,"  glorified 
inhabitants  of  the  spirit  world. 

20.  Vanity.  Fruitlessness,  frailty.  Everything  in  the  natural 
world  finally  decays  and  disappears  in  death.     Him  who  subjected 

12  177 


8:21  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

its  own  will,  but  by  reason  of  him  who  subjected 
it,  in  hope 

21.  that  the  creation  itself  also  shall  be  delivered  from 
the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  liberty  of  the 
glory  of  the  children  of  God. 

22.  For  we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth 
and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now. 

23.  And  not  only  so,  but  ourselves  also,  which  have 
the  firstfruits  of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan 
within  ourselves,  waiting  for  our  adoption,  to  wit, 
the  redemption  of  our  body. 

24.  For  by  hope  were  we  saved :  but  hope  that  is  seen 
is  not  hope:  for  who  hopeth  for  that  which  he 
seeth? 

it.     That  is,  God.     Paul  has  Gen.  3:  17-18  in  mind — "cursed  is 
the  ground." 

21.  Delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption.  From  bondage 
to  the  law  of  decay.  The  tree  reaches  its  culmination  and  begins 
to  decay.  The  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God.  Such 
liberty  from  this  bondage  to  decay  and  death  as  the  glorified 
bodies  of  the  sons  of  God  will  enjoy  (cf.  Rev.  21 :  1-5).  The  idea 
of  a  transformed  nature  appears  in  the  prophets  perhaps  as  sym- 
bolism.    Is.  II,  35,  65:  17;  66:22  (cf.  Enoch  45:5). 

22.  The  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth.  Perhaps 
Paul's  imagination  saw  in  the  howling  storm,  the  restless  sea  and 
the  frequent  earthquake,  signs  of  nature's  intense  desire  in  all  its 
parts  for  liberation.     Together,  all  nature,  in  all  its  parts. 

23.  The  first  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  The  beginning  of  the  New 
Age  of  spirit,  namely,  the  Holy  Spirit.  Believers  have  begun  the 
life  of  the  New  Age,  since  the  Spirit  has  entered  them;  but  they 
join  nature  in  intense  longing  for  the  full  experience,  namely,  the 
possession  of  glorified  bodies  which  will  constitute  their  full 
"adoption"  into  the  world  of  the  glorified  sons  of  God.  (cf.  II 
Cor.  5: 4-5).  Redemption  of  our  body.  Liberation  of  our  body 
from  bondage  to  the  law  of  decay  and  death. 

24.  By  hope  were  we  saved.  In  or  by  hope.  At  the  time  when 
we  formed  the  faith  alliance  with  Christ  which  guaranteed  to  us 
our  entrance  into  the  New  Age,  and  so  "saved"  us,  we  necessarily 
had  only  a  sure  "hope,"  for  that  Age  was  still  in  the  future. 

178 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  8:27 


25.  But  if  we  hope  for  that  which  we  see  not,  then 
do  we  with  patience  wait  for  it. 

26.  And  in  Hke  manner  the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our 
infirmity:  for  we  know  not  how  to  pray  as  we 
ought;  but  the  Spirit  himself  maketh  intercession 
for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered; 

27.  and  he  that  searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  what 
is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  because  he  maketh  in- 
tercession for  the  saints  according  to  the  will  of 
God. 


25.  It  is  necessary  to  urge  patient  hopefulness  in  this  period  of 
waiting  for  there  is  always  danger  that  the  great  hope  will  abate, 
because  of  the  human  weakness  alluded  to  in  the  next  verse. 

26.  In  like  manner.  In  manner  like  to  that  which  has  char- 
acterized the  activity  attributed  to  him  in  the  preceding  sentences, 
especially  V.  16.  Our  infirmity.  An  illustration  of  our  weakness 
follows.  How  to  pray.  Rather,  what  it  is  fitting  to  pray  for, 
how  to  phrase  the  deep  longings  for  the  New  Age.  Groanings 
which  cannot  be  uttered.  These  groanings,  or  deep  sighs,  men- 
tioned also  in  v.  23,  are  very  possibly  such  signs  of  distress  as  often 
characterized  those  who  exercised  the  so  called  gift  of  tongues. 
They  could  not  express  themselves  in  intelligible  speech.  (I  Cor. 
14:  2).  They  did  not  even  "know  how  to  pray"  in  such  a  way  as 
to  be  intelligible  to  their  own  understanding  (I  Cor.  14:  14). 
They  were  simply  mastered  by  a  tremendous  emotion.  The 
powers  of  the  spirit  Avorld,  in  the  border  land  of  which  they  were 
living,  seized  them  and  so  filled  them  with  the  longing  to  come 
across,  that  they  could  utter  only  unintelligible  groans  and  ejacu- 
lations. Since  Paul  himself  had  this  experience  in  a  high  degree 
(I  Cor.  14:  18;  cf.  II  Cor.  12:  i  ff.),  he  is  speaking  here  out  of  his 
own  experience.  This  unintelligible  petitionary  praying  by  our 
spirits,  the  Holy  Spirit,  our  intercessor  in  "the  friendly  court"  of 
God,  shares  and  helps  us  present  to  God. 

27.  He  that  searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit.  The  language  is  anthropomorphic.  When  God  finds 
his  Spirit  in  the  human  heart  sharing  its  unutterable  longings,  he 
knows  what  they  are  because  he  knows  what  is  always  in  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit.  The  mind  of  the  Spirit  is  in  accord  with  his 
own.     The  saints.     See  on  i :  7. 

179 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


28.  And  we  know  that  to  them  that  love  God  all 
things  work  together  for  good,  even  to  them  that 
are  called  according  to  his  purpose. 

29.  For  whom  he  foreknew,  he  also  foreordained  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son,  that  he  might 
be  the  firstborn  among  many  brethren : 

30.  and  whom  he  foreordained,  them  he  also  called: 
and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified:  and 
whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified. 

28.  God  not  only  understands  the  poor  prayer  that  the  human 
spirit  helped  by  the  Holy  Spirit  is  making  in  its  longing  for  the 
glory  of  the  New  Age,  but  he  himself  does  something  about  it. 
To  them  that  love  God  all  things  work  together.  Better,  with 
them  that  love  God,  he  works  in  all  ways.  For  good.  For  the 
great  good  that  they  long  for  with  unutterable  groanings,  namely, 
the  glory  of  the  New  Age,  That  this  is  the  "good"  appears 
clearly  in  the  next  two  verses  which  reach  as  their  climax  in  the 
last  clause,  glorification  in  the  New  Age.  Called  according  to 
his  piirpose.  His  purpose  when  he  called  them  was  to  glorify 
them  in  the  New  Age. 

29-30.  The  point  is  that  God  who  has  taken  the  great  steps 
here  described  in  dealing  with  his  children  can  surely  be  relied 
upon  to  take  the  last  step,  up  to  which  all  the  others  have  led, 
and  glorify  them  in  the  New  Age.  It  is  amplification  of  the  fact 
that  God  works  with  them  in  all  ways  (v.  28)  for  the  great  good. 
Foreknew.  Recognized  beforehand  as  those  who  were  to  love 
him.  Paul  had  a  strong  sense  of  God's  plan  to  proceed  by  the 
method  of  selection  (see  notes  on  9:6  ff),  but  here  he  is  simply 
concerned  to  enumerate  the  steps  that  lead  inevitably  up  to 
"glorification."  Foreordained  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of 
his  Son.  Determined  to  give  them  glorious  spiritual  bodies  like  that 
of  his  Son.  First-bom.  Priority  in  the  time  of  his  glorification 
and  also  superiority  of  position,  a  first  born's  honors  in  the  family. 
Many  brethren.  Planned  to  include  great  multitudes  (cf .  1 1 :  32 ) . 
Called.  Invited  to  become  sons  of  God,  brothers  of  the  Christ. 
It  is  assumed  that  the  invitation  constrained.  Justified.  When 
the  "called"  responded  to  the  invitation  and  in  faith  joined  those 
who  are  to  gather  as  brothers  about  the  first-born,  God  pro- 
nounced them  righteous  (cf.  on  3:24).  Glorified.  In  the  New 
Age.  The  act  is  spoken  of  as  past  because  already  virtually  ac- 
complished in  giving  us  the  Spirit  (v.  23). 

180 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  8:32 

6.  Hymn  of  Triumph.  Our  glorification  in  the  New 
Age  is  certain,  assured  to  us  by  the  invincible  love  of 
God  which  has  come  to  us  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord, 
8:31-39- 

31.  What  then  shall  we  say  to  these  things?  If  God 
is  for  us,  who  is  against  us? 

32.  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him 
up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  also  with  him  freely 
give  us  all  things? 


"What  shall  be  our  condiision  in  the  light  of  these  great  facts? 
Since  God  from  all  eternity  has  been  for  us  who  can  stand  against 
us?  (31).  Since  God  did  not  spare  his  own  Son,  the  very  Lord 
of  the  Coming  Age,  but  gave  him  freely  to  open  up  for  us  a  way  into 
its  glory,  how  can  we  doubt  that  he  will  grant  us  all  the  wealth 
of  life  that  Age  affords  (32)?  Who  in  the  judgment  day  could 
successfully  bring  any  charge  against  those  whom  God  has 
chosen?  God  only,  and  he  it  is  who  has  already  pronounced  the 
great  verdict  of  acquittal  (33) !  Who  could  condemn  us  in  that 
great  day?  Jesus  Christ  the  judge,  but  he  it  is  who  died  for  us, 
yea  more  is  risen  from  the  dead,  who  holds  the  place  of  power 
at  God's  right  hand  and  in  God's  friendly  court  makes  presenta- 
tion of  our  cause  (34) !  Who  shall  ever  separate  us  from  the  loving 
Christ?  Tribulation?  Anguish?  Persecution?  Famine?  Na- 
kedness? Peril?  Sword  (35)?  For  even  the  sword  we  know! 
We  know  what  the  Psalmist  meant  when  he  said  that  we  like 
sheep  stand  all  day  in  the  slaughter  pen  awaiting  the  bloody 
knife  (36)!  Nay,  nay,  in  all  these  experiences,  w^e  come  off  con- 
querors,— and  more — through  the  blessed  help  of  the  Lord  who 
loves  us  (37).  I  stand  fully  convinced  that  nothing  in  the  realm 
of  the  dead  or  the  living,  no  angel,  or  lordly  archangel,  nothing  in 
this  dark  age  or  in  the  glorious  Coming  Age,  not  anything  in  the 
heights  or  in  the  depths,  not  anything  anywhere  in  all  creation, 
shall  be  able  to  come  between  us  and  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  Our  Lord  (39)." 

32.  Delivered  him  up  for  us  all.  To  live  and  die  for  our  ad- 
vantage in  this  flesh  age.  Cf.  4:25.  All  things.  The  Greek 
uses  the  article  which  makes  the  expression  mean  "the  whole 
thing,"  that  which  completes  and  includes  everything,  namely, 
the  glory  of  the  Coming  Age  which  has  been  under  discussion  in 

181 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


33.  Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's 
elect?    It  is  God  that  justifieth; 

34.  who  is  he  that  shall  condemn?  It  is  Christ  Jesus 
that  died,  yea  rather,  that  was  raised  from  the 
dead,  who  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also 
maketh  intercession  for  us. 

35.  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ? 
shall  tribulation,  or  anguish,  or  persecution,  or 
famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword? 

36.  Even  as  it  is  written,  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all 
the  day  long;  We  were  accounted  as  sheep  for 
the  slaughter. 

37.  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  con- 
querors through  him  that  loved  us. 

the  preceding  verses.  Since  God  has  already  given  for  us  His 
own  Son,  the  chief  feature  and  Lord  of  the  Coming  Age,  he  cer- 
tainly will  withhold  no  lesser  feature  of  that  Age.  33.  God  that 
justifieth.  This  may  be  closely  connected  with  what  follows  as  the 
punctuation  adopted  in  the  English  text  indicates.  Or  it  may  be 
regarded  as  the  answer  to  the  question  in  the  first  clause  of  the 
verse,  (See  paraphrase.)  Or  all  clauses  in  vs.  33-34  may  be 
regarded  as  questions.  God's  elect.  His  chosen  ones,  those 
whom  he  foreknew  (v.  29).  Nothing  is  said  here  about  his  atti- 
tude toward  those  who  are  not  "chosen,"  or  about  the  reason  for 
their  not  being  chosen.     See  notes  on  9:  6  ff. 

34.  Maketh  intercession  for  us.  Not  to  persuade  God  to  deal 
kindly  with  us,  for  it  was  God's  kindness  that  led  him  to  give  his 
own  Son  (v.  32)  and  that  took  all  the  steps  described  in  vs.  29-30. 
The  figure  is  rather  that  of  one  who  represents  us  and  our  needs 
in  a  "friendly  court."  ^35.  Of  Christ.  There  is  manuscript 
authority  for  the  reading  "of  God"  with  no  difference  of  mean- 
ing, for  the  love  of  God  is  in  Christ  (v.  39).  Tribulation,  etc. 
Paul  knew  the  meaning  of  each  of  these  words  from  his  own 
experience.     Cf.  II  Cor.  11:23-29. 

36.  The  word  "sword"  suggests  as  its  commentary  Ps.  44:22 
with  its  picture  of  slaughter  sheep  (cf.  44:  11)  waiting  all  day  in 
the  pen  for  their  turn  to  come.  The  whole  Psalm  is  one  in  which 
those  that  are  made  a  "scoffing  and  a  derision  to  them  that  are 

182 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  8:39 

38.  For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  Ufe, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come, 

39.  nor  powers,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

round  about"  (v.  13),  look  for  "redemption"  (v.  26),  and  so  is 
appropriate  to  the  present  situation. 

38.  Principalities,  powers.  Classes  of  great  archangels  (cf. 
Col.  i:  16).  In  the  Secrets  of  Enoch  20:  i  they  are  mentioned 
among  others  in  the  "fiery  troops  of  great  archangels,"  of  the 
seventh  heaven. 

39.  Height,  depth.  The  heights  of  heaven,  the  region  of  life 
and  angels.  The  depths  of  the  abyss,  the  region  of  death  and 
demons  (cf.  10:6-7,  Phil.  2: 10,  Lk.  8:31). 


183 


9*1         III.  The    Relation    of    the    Jewish    Nation   tc 
Jesus'   Messianic   Salvation,   chs.   9-11. 

I .  The  present  unbelief  of  the  Jews  no  evidence  that  God 
does  not  plan  to  save  the  nation ,  g:  i-zg. 

9.  I  say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience 
bearing  witness  with  me  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 


(i)  Gentile  Christians  must  not  think — as  unfortunately  many 
Jews  do — that  I  have  given  up  all  hope  of  seeing  my 
fellow  countrymen  accept  messianic  salvation  and  am  in- 
different to  their  condition,  g:  1-5. 

In  ch.  8  Paul  has  been  picturing  the  New  Age  of  Spirit  toward 
the  wonderful  "glory"  of  which  all  nature,  as  well  as  redeemed 
man,  is  straining  (vs.  18-23).  In  that  glory  he  has  pictured 
Jesus  Christ  walking,  a  first-born  in  the  midst  of  a  host  of  glori- 
fied brothers  (v.  29).  This  future  is  secure.  No  angel  good  or 
bad  is  able  so  to  get  between  the  redeemed  and  their  Lord  as  to 
deprive  them  of  it  (vs.  31-39).  And  now  against  this  beautiful 
picture  of  the  messianic  New  Age  he  sees  the  Jewish  nation,  sullen 
and  unresponsive,  blind  to  the  vision,  holding  almost  wholly 
aloof  from  the  Jesus  movement  which  is  destined  to  introduce  the 
New  Age.  The  though  fills  him  with  profound,  but  by  no  means 
hopeless,  sorrow. 

This  section,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  letter,  is  most  intelligible 
when  considered  to  be  addressed  to  Gentile  Christians.  They 
appear  here  as  conceitedly  thinking  (11 :  17-24)  that,  if  God  ever 
planned  messianic  salvation  for  the  Jews,  he  has  cast  them  off  and 
has  decided  to  make  it  a  peculiarly  Gentile  possession.  Paul's 
frequent  arguments,  proving  from  scripture  that  God  always 
planned  to  have  the  Gentile  world  in  his  messianic  kingdom,  have 
been  misunderstood  by  Gentile  Christians  to  mean  that  God  long 
ago  decided  to  have  none  but  Gentiles  possess  it.  They  argue 
that  if  he  ever  planned  to  have  the  Jewish  nation  included,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  say  that  his  plan  has  evidently  failed,  for 
the  Jewish  nation  has  rejected  it  (9:  6). 

184 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


9:1 


Paul's  argument,  while  chiefly  directed  to  Gentile  Christians, 
will  also  incidentally  be  a  comfort  to  Jewish  Christians  and  an 
invitation  to  non-Christian  Jews.  That  is,  these  chapters,  like 
all  the  preceding,  help  to  make  the  letter  a  platform  to  which  all 
classes  must  be  speedily  brought  in  preparation  for  the  dawning 
of  the  New  Age.  The  argument  falls  into  three  parts,  (i)  In 
the  first  part  he  shows  that  the  present  Jewish  rejection  of  the 
Jesus  messianic  movement  is  no  proof  that  God  does  not  pro- 
pose to  include  the  Jewish  nation  as  a  whole  in  it.  God  has  al- 
ways proceeded  by  a  process  of  apparently  arbitrary  selection, 
taking  some  and  rejecting  others.  The  present  generation,  now 
so  near  its  close,  has  evidently  been  rejected  (9:  1-29).  (2) 
This  generation  has  been  rejected  because  of  its  perverse  unwill- 
ingness to  accept  the  righteousness  by  faith  which  the  gospel 
proclaims  (9:30-10:21).  (3)  But  the  nation  as  a  whole  will 
soon  become  Christian,  and  the  wonderful  stream  of  God's 
immeasurable  grace  will  run  out  into  the  vastness  of  the  New  Age 
(ch.  II). 

"I  wish  to  make  solemn  protest  against  a  misunderstanding  of 
my  position  which  I  find  to  be  current  among  many  Gentile 
Christians,  who  have  never  freed  themselves  from  a  common  but 
unfortunate  prejudice  against  the  members  of  my  race.  They 
think  that  I,  who  as  the  enthusiastic  apostle  to  Gentiles  have 
become  odious  to  my  own  people,  have  turned  against  my  unbe- 
lieving countrymen  and  have  ceased  to  feel  any  concern  for  them. 
Now  as  one  who  is  living  in  daily  fellowship  with  Christ,  one  whose 
conscience  vitalized  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  truth  testifies  to  his 
truthfulness — those  who  freely  call  me  'liar'  must  believe  that 
what  I  am  about  to  say  is  no  lie  (i)! — I  say  that  there  is  in  my 
heart  profound  sorrow  and  a  pain  that  never  ceases  (2).  I  could 
even  wish  that  I  might  be  sent  away  from  Christ  with  the  ac- 
cursed in  the  judgment  day,  if  that  could  bring  my  brother  Jews 
to  him  (3).  What  privilege  and  honor  God  has  given  them! 
They  bear  the  proud  title  Israelites,  men  who  have  prevailed  with 
God,  chosen  to  be  his  people.  Upon  them  God's  glory  rested  in 
the  wilderness.  With  them  he  made  solemn  covenants.  With 
them  in  Mt.  Sinai  he  deposited  his  holy  law.  For  them  he  or- 
dained the  solemn  and  beautiful  temple  ritual.  To  them  were 
made  the  promises  of  the  Messianic  Age  (4).  Theirs  were  the 
patriarchal  founders  of  the  nation,  peerless  in  the  history  of 
nations.  From  their  stock  in  his  fleshly  descent  sprang  the 
Christ  who  is  over  all  things,  blessed  be  God  forever.  Amen 
(5)!" 

I.  I  lie  not.  Liar  was  an  epithet  that  had  been  often  applied 
to  Paul  recently.     (3:7,  II  Cor.  6:8;  11:31).     The  sentence  in 

185 


9:2  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

the  order  of  its  words  and  the  cumulative  effect  of  its  ideas  ex- 
presses extreme  vehemence.  Truth  is  the  first  word  in  the  Greek 
sentence.  The  truth  is  spoken  by  one  in  fellowship  with  Christ, 
who  can  appeal  to  his  conscience  and  who  is  living  in  fellowship 
with  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  connection  with  whom  one  would  not  dare 
to  lie.  Such  vehemence  indicates  that  the  thing  about  to  be 
asserted  is  of  great  importance  and  something  that  the  readers 
might  be  slow  to  believe.  That  which  is  asserted  is  Paul's  pro- 
found concern  over  the  failure  of  his  Jewish  fellow  countrymen  to 
identify  themselves  with  the  Jesus  messianic  movement.  Since 
the  letter  is  written  to  Gentile  Christians,  they  are  the  ones  who 
will  be  slow  to  believe  this.  There  was  a  widespread  prejudice 
against  Jews  in  the  Greco-Roman  world.  There  were  high- 
minded  Gentiles  who  overcame  the  prejudice,  attended  the  syna- 
gogue service  and  worshipped  Jehovah,  although  without  becom- 
ing Jewish  proselytes.  They  are  called  in  Acts  "devout  Greeks" 
(e.g.,  17:4).  Many  of  the  first  Gentile  Christians  came  from  this 
class.  When  they  became  Christians  however  the  synagogue 
turned  bitterly  against  them  and  made  it  perfectly  natural  for 
them  to  relapse  into  the  general  "anti-Semitic"  prejudice.  In- 
asmuch as  most  Christians  were  Gentiles,  and  the  Jews  as  a  nation 
bitterly  opposed  the  Jesus  movement,  Gentile  Christians  easily 
yielded  to  a  natural  conceit  and  concluded  that  God  had,  either 
now  or  long  ago,  cast  off  his  always  perverse  people  (11:  i)  and 
meant  messianic  salvation  to  be,  what  it  was  fast  becoming,  an 
exclusive  possession  of  Gentiles.  Since  Paul  *was  the  famous 
apostle  to  the  Gentiles  and  proved  so  clearly  from  the  scriptures 
that  God  had  always  had  Gentiles  in  mind,  it  was  easy  for  Gentile 
Christians  to  suppose  that  Paul  agreed  with  them  in  the  belief 
that  there  was  no  place  for  Jews  in  the  Jesus  movement.  The 
fact  that  Paul  had  abandoned  the  strictly  Jewish  manner  of  life 
(I  Cor.  9:  21 ;  Gal,  2:  11-14)  and  was  everywhere  regarded  by  his 
countrymen  as  a  renegade  Jew  (Acts2i :  21, 28),  made  it  natural  for 
Gentile  Christians  to  reach  this  conclusion.  Furthermore,  Paul 
had  probably  often  been  heard  to  use  of  the  Jews,  such  language 
as  is  found  in  I  Thess.  2:  16:  they  were  "filling  up  their  sins  al- 
way"  and  "God's  wrath  had  come  upon  them  to  the  uttermost." 
This  language  was  easily  misunderstood  to  express  his  conclusion 
regarding  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  nation.  Paul  is  profoundly 
concerned  to  correct  this  false  impression,  because  he  feels  that 
before  the  Lord  comes  from  heaven  to  inaugurate  the  New  Age, 
Jew  and  Gentile  must  unite  in  expectant  waiting  for  him.  These 
chapters,  therefore,  though  addressed  primarily  to  Gentile  Chris- 
tians in  Rome,  will  be  of  interest  to  both  Christian  and  non- 
Christian  Jews,  and  Paul  may  have  hoped  that  the  contents  of 
these  chapters  would  in  some  way  reach  them. 

186 


THE  EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


2.  that  I  have  great  sorrow  and  unceasing  pain  in 
my   heart. 

3.  For  I  could  wish  that  I  myself  were  anathema 
from  Christ  for  my  brethren's  sake,  my  Idnsmen 
according  to  the  flesh: 

4.  who  are  Israelites;  whose  is  the  adoption,  and  the 
glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the 
law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises; 

2-3,  Unceasing  pain.  Consuming  grief.  Here  Paul  uses 
strong  language  to  express  his  intense  sorrow  over  the  condition 
of  his  countrymen.  Yet  in  1 1 :  25-32  he  feels  very  hopeful  about 
them  and  breaks  out  again  in  a  hymn  of  praise  over  their  pros- 
pects 11:  (33-36).  How  can  he  be  so  sorrowful  here  when  he 
knows  all  that  he  will  say  in  ch.  11?  The  explanation  seems  to 
be  that  he  is  speaking  here  in  ch.  9  of  the  perverse  generation  of 
Jews  which  had  now  come  almost  to  its  end  (it  is  now  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  since  the  execution  of  Jesus),  and  in  ch.  11  of 
the  new  nation  that  was  already  coming  on  to  take  its  place,  and 
that  within  a  few  years  (13:1 1  -12)  would  be  ready  to  welcome  the 
Lord.  To  this  older  generation  that  had  "killed  the  Lord  Jesus 
and  the  prophets"  "forbidding  us  to  speak  to  the  Gentiles"  (I 
Thcss.  2:  14-15)  belonged  Paul's  parents,  his  old  teacher  Gamal- 
iel, his  associates  in  Jerusalem,  and  his  friends  in  the  Tarsus 
Ghetto,  many  of  them  earnest  men  for  whom  he  had  in  earlier 
years  felt  a  profound  respect  that  he  could  never  lose  (10:  1-2). 
Anathema  from  Christ.  Separated  from  Christ  by  having  the 
"curse"  of  the  judgment  day  (cf.  Mt.  25:  41)  pronounced  on  him. 
The  spontaneous,  hyperbolical  expression  of  deep  emotion. 
Brethren's  sake.  Jewish  fellow  countrymen  are  called  "brethren" 
(cf.  Acts  2:29,  37;  3: 17;  13:  15,  26,  38).  Accordmg  to  the  flesh. 
Flesh  not  in  the  sense  of  chs.  7-8,  but  natural  descent  (cf.  1:3). 

4.  Paul,  the  high-minded  Pharisee  (cf.  Acts  23:6;  Phil.  3:5), 
shows  his  national  pride.  Israelites.  An  august  title  of  digni- 
fied religious  origin  (Gen.  32:28;  cf.  Jn.  1:47;  II  Cor.  11:22). 
The  adoption.  The  selection  of  the  nation  to  be  God's  people  in 
a  special  sense.  They  are  called  God's  son  in  Ex.  4:  22.  Perhaps 
Paul  meant  to  hint  by  the  use  of  this  word  that  they  would  be 
specially  eligible  for  adoption  as  "sons  of  God"  in  the  Coming 
Age  (8:  15,  23).  The  glory.  The  shechinah  glory  (Ex.  40: 
34-35)-  Perhaps  with  intent  to  suggest  their  natural  fitness  for 
the  "glory"  of  the  New  Age  (8:  18).  The  covenants.  The  one 
at  Sinai  (Ex.  24:  7,  8;  34:  10)  and  the  new  covenant  of  Jer.  31:  31- 

187 


9:4 


9:5  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

5.  whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of  whom  is  Christ  as 
concerning  the  flesh,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed 
for  ever.     Amen. 

34,  which  is  the  covenant  of  messianic  salvation.  This  belonged 
to  the  "Jew  first"  (i:  16;  2:  10).  The  giving  of  the  law,  to 
Paul's  mind  a  glorious  event,  although  not  to  be  over  esti- 
mated or  misinterpreted  (Gal.  3:19).  The  service.  The  rich 
temple  ritual,  which  had  profoundly  impressed  the  sensitive,  high- 
strung  boy  from  Tarsus  when  he  came  first  to  Jerusalem.  The 
promises  of  messianic  salvation  (3:1). 

5.  The  fathers.  What  other  nation  ever  had  such  righteous 
founders!  Of  whom  is  Christ  as  concerning  the  flesh.  This  is 
the  culmination:  Jesus  Christ  was  a  Jew.  Who  is  over  all,  God 
blessed  forever.  The  sentence  may  be  so  punctuated  as  to  read 
in  several  ways,  (i)  "The  God  who  is  over  all  things  be  (or  is) 
blessed  forever. ' '  The  Greek  sentence  would  naturally  be  slightly 
different  if  this  were  the  thought.  Furthermore,  there  would 
seem  to  be  no  particular  propriety  in  breaking  out  into  a  doxology 
over  the  fact  that  Christ  was  a  Jew.  (2)  "Of  whom  is  Christ, 
who  is  over  all  things  (and  who  is)  God  blessed  forever."  While 
Paul  highly  exalts  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Lord  whom  Christians 
worship  (I  Cor.  8:  5-6;  Phil.  2:  io-ti),  he  does  not  elsewhere  call 
him  God.  The  word  "fulness"  in  Zo\.  i:  19  and  in  the  phrase 
"fulness  of  the  Godhead"  (Col.  2 :  9)  is  probably  to  be  interpreted 
as  a  technical  term  referring  to  angelic  beings  and  spheres. 
(3)  "Christ  who  is  over  all,  blessed  be  God  forever."  It  is  in 
accord  with  Paul's  usage  to  speak  of  Christ  as  over  all  things,  men 
and  angels  (I  Cor.  8:  5-6;  Phil.  2:  lo-ii;  Col.  i:  15-17),  and 
natural  that  after  having  done  so  he  should  break  out  in  a 
doxology.     Cf.  1 :  25. 

(2)  We  cannot  argue,  as  do  some  Gentile  Christians,  that  God 
has  not  purposed  to  give  the  Jews  messianic  salvation, 
on  the  ground  that  if  such  a  purpose  were  ascribed  to  him 
present  Jewish  opposition  would  necessitate  concluding 
that  his  purpose  had  come  to  naught  (v.  6).  In  dealing 
with  the  nation  he  has  always  proceeded  by  a  process  of 
apparently  arbitrary  selection,  selecting  some  and  passing 
others  by.  His  passing  over  this  present  generation  is 
simply  a  step  forward  in  his  great  purpose  to  introduce 
the  nation  into  messianic  salvation  by  his  ancient 
process  of  selection,  g:  6-13. 
"The  failure  of  this  generation  of  Jews  to  accept  Jesus'  messianic 
salvation  is  no  sign  that  God's  purpose  to  save  the  nation  has 

188 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  9:6 

6.  But  it  is  not  as  though  the  word  of  God  hath 
come  to  nought.  For  they  are  not  all  Israel, 
which  are  of  Israel: 


come  to  naught.  We  must  remember  that  not  all  who  descended 
from  the  man  Israel  were  included  in  the  nation  Israel  (6). 
Neither  were  all  the  offspring  of  Abraham  considered  to  be  Abra- 
ham's children  to  whom  God  made  his  promises.  Only  in  Isaac 
was  there  that  which  could  be  called  true  seed  (7).  That  is,  it 
was  not  the  children  born  by  ordinary  generation  who  were 
counted  God's  children,  heirs  of  God's  promises,  but  only  the 
children  born  as  a  result  of  God's  special  promise,  who  are  listed 
in  God's  book  as  Abraham's  true  seed,  destined  for  the  Messianic 
Age  (8) .  The  promise  of  God  is  on  record,  and  applies  only  to  the 
child  whom  Sarah  bore  to  Abraham.  It  reads:  "about  this 
season  will  I  come  and  Sarah  shall  have  a  son"  (9).  Not  only 
did  God  select  Sarah's  son  Isaac,  among  all  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham, but  he  also  made  selection  among  the  children  of  Isaac 
in  a  way  that  reveals  most  strikingly  his  general  policy  of  pro- 
ceeding by  a  method  of  apparently  arbitrary  selection.  Before 
Isaac's  wife  Rebecca  had  given  birth  to  their  twins  (10),  when 
neither  of  the  unborn  children  had  had  a  chance  to  do  anything 
good  or  evil,  in  order  that  God's  purpose  to  introduce  messianic 
salvation  by  a  preoess  of  selection  might  be  clearly  established, 
in  order  that  a  place  in  the  line  leading  to  messianic  salvation 
might  not  seem  to  be  due  to  anything  that  any  man  had  done 
but  to  be  the  result  solely  of  the  selective  summons  of  God  (11), 
he  summoned  one  of  these  unborn  children  to  a  place  of  advantage 
over  the  other.  Strangely  enough  he  gave  to  the  younger  of  the 
two  control  over  the  older  (12).  His  decided  choice  of  the  one 
and  rejection  of  the  other  stands  clearly  expressed  in  the  state- 
ment made  by  Malachi  about  God's  attitude  toward  the  tribes 
that  were  founded  by  these  twin  brothers:  'Jacob  I  loved,  Esau 
I  hated.'  Evidently  God  has  in  the  same  manner  passed  over 
the  present  generation  of  Jews  (13)." 

6.  The  word  of  God — promising  messianic  salvation  to  the  na- 
tion (3 :  1-3).  The  opposition  of  the  present  generation  of  Jews  to 
the  Jesus  messianic  movement  is  no  proof  that  God's  promise  to 
the  nation  will  not  be  fulfilled.  Not  all  Israel,  which  are  of  Israel. 
Not  all  the  descendants  of  the  man  Israel  were  in  the  nation 
Israel.  (He  mentions  Israel  before  Abraham,  because  he  has 
just  spoken  of  Israelites),  Therefore,  the  present  generation  of 
Jews  could  fail  to  receive  messianic  salvation  without  detriment 
to  the  faithfulness  of  God's  word  to  the  nation  as  a  whole. 

189 


9:7  THE  EPTSTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

7.  neither,  because  they  are  Abraham's  seed,  are  the^^ 
all  children:  but,  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called. 

8.  That  is,  it  is  not  the  children  of  the  flesh  that  are 
children  of  God;  but  the  children  of  the  promise 
are  reckoned  for  a  seed. 

9.  For  this  is  a  word  of  promise,  According  to  this 
season  will  I  come,  and  Sarah  shall  have  a  son. 

10.  And  not  only  so;  but  Rebecca  also  having  con- 
ceived by  one,  even  by  our  father  Isaac — 

11.  for  the  children  being  not  yet  born,  neither  having 
done  anything  good  or  bad,  that  the  purpose  of 
God  according  to  election  might  stand,  not  of 
works,  but  of  him  that  calleth, 

7.  Goes  back  of  Israel  to  Abraham,  the  founder  himself.  Not 
all  of  his  children  were  in  the  messianic  line  (Gen.  21:  12),  any 
more  than  is  the  present  generation. 

8.  Now  a  general  principle  is  stated.  It  is  not  all  offspring  that 
are  in  the  messianic  line  and  so  called  "God's  children."  (Cf. 
8:  14-17.)  Children  of  the  flesh.  Children  with  whose  coming 
God  has  no  special  connection.  Children  of  the  promise.  Children 
born  in  fulfilment  of  God's  promise.  Reckoned  for  a  seed. 
Perhaps  a  somewhat  commercial  or  forensic  word;  formally  en- 
tered as  descendants  in  God's  book  of  life,  where  those  are  listed 
who  are  to  have  the  life  of  the  Messianic  Age. 

10.  Not  only  so.  A  more  dramatic  instance  of  procedure  by 
selection  follows. 

11.  The  purpose  of  God  according  to  election.  The  purpose  to 
give  messianic  salvation  to  the  nation  and  the  world,  a  purpose 
that  is  accomplished  by  a  process  of  selection.  Not  of  works.  A 
protest  against  an  idea,  current  among  some  circles  of  Judaism, 
that  a  man  could  earn  enough  righteousness  in  the  form  of  credits 
for  acts  of  obedience  to  specific  commandments  in  the  law  to 
put  God  under  obligation  to  give  him  prominence  and  leadership 
in  his  messianic  plan.  God  did  not  wait  until  Jacob  could  say: 
"I  fast  twice  in  the  week,  I  givetithesof  all  that  I  get  (Lk.^  18:  12). 
I  must  be  the  one  through  whose  seed  messianic  salvation  shall 
come."  But  of  him  that  calleth.  The  purpose  was  to  spring 
solely  out  of  the  will  of  God.  It  is  not  asserted  that  God  did  not 
have  some  reason  for  willing  as  he  did,  but  that  reason  was  cer- 

190 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


9:14 


12.  it  was  said  unto  her,  The  elder  shall  serve  the 
younger. 

13.  Even  as  it  is  written,  Jacob  I  loved,  but  Esau  I 
hated. 

tainly  not  some  demonstrated  excellence  on  the  part  of  Jacob, 
and  apparently  no  foreseen  excellence.  Paul's  point  seems  to  be 
that  God's  plan  to  introduce  the  Messianic  Age,  to  "save  the 
world,"  does  not  veer  and  shift  with  the  shifting  conduct  of  men. 
The  plan  was  formed  antecedently  to  human  conduct,  and  the 
agents  through  whom  the  plan  was  to  be  accomplished  were 
selected  on  some  other  basis  than  their  uncertain  conduct.  The 
plan  eliminated  Esau  from  the  process  and  has  also  evidently 
eliminated  the  present  generation  of  Jews,  without  in  the  least 
jeopardizing  the  final  inclusion  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

13.  Jacob  I  loved,  but  Esau  I  hated.     A  quotation  from  Mai. 
1 : 2-3  in  which  the  prophet  ascribes  to  Jehovah,  the  God  of  his 
people,  the  traditional  hatred  felt  by  his  people,  or  some  portion 
of  them,  for  their  malicious  neighbors.     It  is  a  strong  oriental 
way  of  saying,  God  chose  the  descendants  of  Jacob  to  be  his 
people,  the  bearers  of  the  messianic  hope,  rather  than  the  Edom- 
ites.     No  reason  for"  the  choice  is  given.     Paul  states  later  that 
the  dominant   motive  in   all   God's    messianic     procedure  was 
"mercy,"  "that  he  might  have  mercy  on  all"  (11:32).     The  sal- 
vation of  individual  Edomites  is  not  under  discussion  here,  yet 
Paul  would  say  that  they  suffered  great  disadvantage  as  individ- 
uals by  not  belonging  to  the  chosen  race  (3:  1-3).     What  became 
of  these  Edomites  because  the  nation  fell  out  of  the  process,  is  a 
question  Paul  never  discusses.     The  evolutionary  process  is  often 
considered  to  be  wasteful  of  the  individual  organisms  that  fall 
out  in  the  process.     But  who  knows  what  becomes  of  them? 
(3)  Some  Gentile  Christians  may  say  that  to  attribute  such 
arbitrary  discriminations  to  God  is  to  charge  him  with  un- 
righteousness, that  if  he  had  been  planning  to  give  mes- 
sianic salvation  to  the  Jewish  nation  he  certainly  would 
not  have  been  so  unfair  as  to  pass  over  this  generation. 
But  such  discriminations  are  not  unrighteous,  since  the 
scriptures  clearly  attribute  them  to  God  (15-18),  and  no 
man  has  any  right  to  question  the  conduct  of  God  (iQ-26), 
g:  14-26. 
"You  Gentile  Christians  may  say  that  to  ascribe  to  God  a 
policy  of  arbitrary  selection,  which  discriminates  between  appar- 
ently equally  eligible  individuals  in  the  same  family  or  between 
generations  in  the  same  nation,  is  to  find  unrighteousness  in  him. 

191 


9:i4 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


You  say,  perhaps,  that  if  God  were  planning  to  give  messianic 
salvation  to  the  Jewish  nation,  as  I  maintain,  he  would  certainly 
not  have  been  so  unfair  as  to  reject  this  generation  (14).  But  we 
must  not  for  a  moment  think  such  discrimination  on  the  part  of 
God  to  be  unrighteous,  for  the  scripture  unmistakably  makes  him 
assert  his  right  to  discriminate,  and  it  therefore  cannot  be  unright- 
eous to  do  so,  Do  you  not  remember  that  he  said  to  Moses : '  I  will 
show  mercy  to  whomsoever  I  choose  to  show  mercy,  and  I  will 
pity  whomsoever  I  choose  to  pity?'  (15).  This  means  that  mes- 
sianic salvation  does  not  come  to  a  man  because  he  proudly  wills 
that  it  shall,  nor,  as  the  misguided  leaders  of  this  generation  of 
my  countrymen  suppose,  because  he  violently  exerts  himself,  like 
a  runner  on  the  race  track,  to  accumulate  credits  in  righteousness 
before  God  by  obediences  to  law;  it  comes  rather  from  the  pitying 
God  to  such  as  get  it  (16).  That  God  shows  pity  or  not,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  pleasure,  is  perfectly  evident  from  what  scripture 
represents  him  as  saying  to  Pharaoh:  'I  have  raised  you  up  to  your 
place  of  power  among  men  for  the  purpose  of  treating  you  in  such 
a  way  as  to  make  an  exhibition  of  my  power,  and  of  making  my 
name  known  throughout  the  earth'  (17).  So,  as  I  said,  God  pities 
whom  he  will  just  as  he  declared  to  Moses  when  he  showed  mercy 
to  Moses  and  his  people,  and  he  'hardens'  whom  he  will  as  the 
scripture  declares  that  he  'hardened'  Pharaoh  (18).  I  seem  to 
hear  you  saying:  'Why  then  is  the  man  blamed  whose  heart  has 
been  hardened?  His  hard  heart  is  just  what  God  willed  it  to  be' 
(19).  But  O,  frail  man,  who  are  you  that  assume  the  right  to 
question  the  conduct  of  God?  God  made  you,  and  the  thing  that 
God  made  certainly  cannot  question  the  right  of  its  maker  to 
make  what  he  pleases  (20)!  Surely  a  potter  has  the  right  and  the 
power  to  make  just  what  he  pleases  out  of  his  clay.  Out  of  the 
same  mass  of  clay  he  may  make  a  part  into  a  vessel  for  ornamental 
or  noble  use  and  another  part  into  a  vessel  for  plain  or  menial 
use  (21).  Why  should  anyone  criticise  God  if  he  should  even 
make  prolonged  exhibition  of  his  purpose  to  choose  one  and 
reject  another,  as  he  did  when  he  kept  Pharaoh  and  Moses  so 
long  on  the  great  world  stage?  Why  should  anyone  object  if 
God,  although  he  was  purposing  finally  to  make  exhibition  of 
his  wrath  and  power  in  his  treatment  of  Pharaoh,  a  'vessel'  that 
he  as  the  Great  Potter  had  fitted  to  be  destroyed  in  wrath, 
nevertheless,  with  forbearance  kept  him  alive  a  good  while,  bring- 
ing plague  after  plague  upon  him  (22),  in  order  that  he  might  have 
protracted  opportunity  to  exhibit  to  all  the  world  the  riches  of 
that  'glory'  that  Moses  asked  to  see,  glory  that  was  manifested 
in  his  merciful  treatment  of  Moses  and  his  people  who  were 
'vessels'  of  mercy  whom  God  had  mercifully  prepared  beforehand 
for  the  glory  of  his  saving  presence  (23)?     These  people,  the  Jews 

192 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS  9:15 

14.  What  shall  we  say  then?  Is  there  unrighteous- 
ness with  God?     God  forbid. 

15.  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  I  will  have  mercy  on 
whom  I  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  compassion 
on  whom  I  have  compassion. 

of  Moses'  day,  God  summoned  to  be  his  own  people,  for  whom  the 
salvation  of  the  Messianic  Age  was  destined ;  and  among  them  we 
Christians  of  the  present  day  take  our  place,  not  only  such  few 
Jews  as  are  Christians,  but  you  who  are  Gentiles  whose  ancestors 
had  no  standing  among  God's  chosen  people  of  old  (24).  God 
planned  this  of  old,  even  when  he  was  delivering  the  people  through 
Moses  and  over-throwing  Pharaoh.  And  we  find  him  saying 
later  through  his  servant  Hosea  the  prophet,  'I  will  call  those  my 
people  who  have  had  no  standing  as  my  people  and  that  nation 
my  beloved  which  had  not  been  loved,  (25).  Indeed  on  the  very 
spot  where  it  had  been  said  to  them,  'You  are  not  my  people,' 
there  shall  they  be  called  'sons  of  the  living  God,' — ready  to  in- 
herit messianic  salvation  from  their  Father  (26)." 

14.  Is  there  unrighteousness  with  God?  This  objection  is 
conceived  by  Paul  to  come  from  Gentile  Christians  strongly  anti- 
Jewish  in  feeling.  To  them  the  Jews  are  a  perverse  race  whom 
God  has,  either  now  or  long  ago,  expelled  from  the  great  messianic 
program.  When  Paul  argues  that  the  present  perverse  attitude 
of  the  nation  is  no  indication  as  to  what  will  finally  become  of  it, 
that  God  has  simply  willed  to  pass  by  the  present  generation  in 
the  accomplishment  of  a  plan  that  will  ultimately  save  the  nation, 
these  Gentile  Christians  are  quick  to  answer  his  argument  by 
saying  that  any  such  apparently  arbitrary  discrimination  against 
a  single  generation  would  be  unrighteous.  It  would  be  far  better 
to  say,  as  they  do,  that  the  Jews  are  a  perverse  race  and  are  get- 
ting what  they  deserve, — entire  exclusion  from  the  messianic  plan. 

15.  For  he  saith  to  Moses.  To  represent  God  as  proceeding 
by  such  a  process  of  selection  is  not  to  attribute  unrighteousness 
to  him,  for  God  himself  asserts  that  he  will  so  proceed,  and  there- 
fore, Paul's  inference  is,  to  do  so  cannot  be  wrong.  The  quota- 
tion is  from  Ex.  33:  19,  where  God  is  showing  Moses  that  the 
people  have  "found  favor  in  his  sight"  (v.  16).  According  to  the 
Hebrew,  God  makes  his  "goodness"  pass  before  Moses,  according 
to  the  LXX,  his  "glory"  which  involved  goodness.  So  since  God 
is  showing  forth  goodness,  or  righteousness,  when  he  makes  this 
statement  about  having  mercy  upon  whom  he  will,  such  discrimi- 
nation cannot  be  considered  unrighteousness.  It  is  perhaps  sig- 
nificant that  in  these  quotations  the  nation  is  the  object  of  mercy, 

13  193 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


1 6.  So  then  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him 
that    runneth,    but    of    God    that    hath    mercy. 

17.  For  the  scripture  saith  unto  Pharaoh,  For  this 
very  purpose  did  I  raise  thee  up,  that  I  might 
shew  in  thee  my  power,  and  that  my  name  might 
be  pubUshed  abroad  in  all  the  earth. 

18.  S6  then  he  hath  mercy  on  whom  he  will,  and  whom 
he  will  he  hardeneth. 


which  accords  with  the  statement  in  Ex.  33:  13  and  also  prepares 
the  way  for  the  statement  in  Rom.  1 1 :  29.  Mercy.  Perhaps 
sympathy  manifesting  itself  in  the  act,  and  compassion,  sym- 
pathy felt  in  the  heart. 

16.  So  then.  Resumes  the  thought  of  v.  11  that  God  chooses 
his  agents  regardless  of  any  righteousness  they  may  accumulate 
by  which  to  compel  his  choice.  Him  that  willeth.  Willeth  to 
constrain  God  by  human  determination.  Runneth.  An  athletic 
figure  indicating  violent  exertion,  frequently  used  to  designate  any 
vigorous  course  of  action  (I  Cor.  9:  24,  26;  Gal.  2:  2,  5:  7;  Phil. 
2:  16).  Does  Paul  think  that  human  effort  avails  at  any  point? 
The  ethical  portions  of  all  his  epistles  enjoin  strenuous  effort 
upon  believers  and  II  Cor.  5:20  appeals  to  the  "unreconciled." 
Perhaps  the  question  of  individual  salvation  is  not  primarily 
under  discussion,  but  rather  the  assignment  of  a  nation,  a  genera- 
tion or  an  individual,  to  a  place  in  the  process  of  bringing  mes- 
sianic salvation  to  the  world.  If  so,  we  confront  the  same  mys- 
tery and  have  to  leave  it  unsolved  as  Paul  did.  We  do  not  see 
clearly  why  certain  generations  rather  than  others  have  produced 
great  geniuses,  or  had  unusual  opportunities. 

17.  For  the  scripture  saith  unto  Pharaoh  (Ex.  9: 16).  Scriptureis 
thought  of  as  God's  word.  For  correlates  with  the  'for'  in  v.  15, 
and  introduces  a  second  instance  in  which  Paul's  view  of  God 
is  supported  by  scripture,  this  time  not  in  showing  mercy  as  in  v.  15 
but  in  withholding  it.  Raise  thee  up.  The  Hebrew  reads 
"made  thee  to  stand."  The  LXX  reads  "hast  thou  been  pre- 
served," that  is,  made  to  continue  standing  through  all  the  previ- 
ous plagues.  Paul  seems  to  understand  the  passage  to  mean 
"raised  thee  up"  in  history,  and  to  say  that  God's  mcrtive  in 
giving  Pharaoh  his  place  among  m.en  was  to  make  in  his  treatment 
of  him  an  exhibition  of  divine  power. 

18.  He  hath  mercy  on  whom  he  will — on  Moses  and  his  nation. 
Hardens.     The  word  is  caught  up  from  the  context  in  Ex.  9:  12. 

194 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 


9:21 


19.  Thou  wilt  say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth  he  still 
find   fault?     For   who   withstandeth   his   will? 

20.  Nay  but,  O  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against 
God?  Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  him  that 
formed  it.  Why  didst  thou  make  me  thus? 

21.  Or  hath  not  the  potter  a  right  over  the  clay,  from 
the  same  lump  to  make  one  part  a  vessel  unto 
honour,  and  another  unto  dishonour? 

We  make  various  explanations  of  God's  "hardening"  Pharaoh's 
heart  which  lay  the  blame  on  Pharaoh  (as  the  Exodus  text  also 
does  9:34)  where  we  think  it  belongs,  and  exonerate  God  from 
apparent  injustice.  Paul  felt  no  need  of  such  explanations,  as 
the  next  verse  indicates.  To  him  a  statement  in  the  scripture 
was  the  end  of  argument.  Furthermore  the  majestic  movement 
of  God's  merciful  power,  and  its  culmination  in  the  glory  of  the 
New  Age  soon  to  dawn,  were  so  vividly  before  his  mind  that  he 
apparently  had  little  trouble  with  what  doubtless  seemed  to  him 
minor  details. 

19.  Why  doth  he  still  find  fault?  He  wanted  Pharaoh's  heart 
to  be  hard  and  Pharaoh  simply  acquiesced  in  the  will  of  God. 
There  is  incidental  evidence  that  Paul  has  the  viewpoint  of  Gen- 
tile Christians  in  mind  here:  Jews  who  held  that  God  was 
against  Gentiles,  and  could  not  naturally  be  expected  to  give 
them  any  chance  to  repent  and  be  saved  (Acts  11:  18),  would 
find  no  difficulty  in  God's  treatment  of  a  great  "sinner  of  the 
Gentiles"  (Gal.  2:  15)  like  Pharaoh. 

20.  Paul  candidly  raises  the  question  but  he  has  practically 
no  reply.  He  simply  asserts  that  God  has  a  right  to  do  as  he 
pleases  and  no  one  ought  to  question  it. 

21.  The  potter.  There  were  potters  everywhere  and  Paul's 
use  of  the  figure  was  common.  (Cf.  Is.  29:  16,  45:9-10,  64:8, 
Jer.  18:6.)  The  same  lump.  No  difference  in  the  material 
although  very  great  differences  in  the  character  of  the  objects 
made  out  of  it.  A  vessel  imto  honor.  A  vase  or  vessel  for  dig- 
nified household  uses  as  contrasted  with  commonplace  or  menial 
uses.  Paul  seems  to  say  here  that  God  has  a  right  to  make  out  of 
a  man  either  saint  or  sinner  as  he  will.  Yet  he  has  earlier  held 
(i :  20,  2:1)  that  man  is  inexcusably  to  blame  for  his  own  sin;  and 
he  has  also  seemed  to  put  the  responsibility  on  an  evil  power  other 
than  man  (7 :  1 7-20) .  Here  he  seems  to  mean  that  back  of  a  man's 
sin  is  both  the  man's  inexcusably  wicked  will  and  God's    will. 

195 


22  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

22.  What  if  God,  willing  to  shew  his  wrath,  and  to 
make  his  power  known,  endured  with  much  long- 
suffering  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  unto  destruction: 

23.  and  that  he  might  make  known  the  riches  of  his 
glory  upon  vessels  of  mercy,  which  he  afore  pre- 
pared unto  glory, 


This  really  logically  makes  God  share  the  man's  sin,  and  so  be 
unrighteous,  but  this  conclusion  Paul  cannot  admit.  He  leaves 
the  difficulty  unexplained  and  contents  himself  with  sa3ang  that 
God  is  surely  righteous.  If  what  God  does  seems  to  man  to  be 
unrighteous,  man  must  admit  that  he  does  not  know  enough  to 
criticise  God.  We  may  hold  a  view  of  the  scriptures  which 
removes  part  of  the  difficulty  that  Paul's  viewpoint  necessitated. 
But  when  we  try  to  state  to  ourselves  the  relation  of  an  immanent 
God  to  an  evil  human  will,  we  find  ourselves  also  confronted  by  an 
unsolved  problem. 

22.  Willing  to  show  his  wrath.  Marginal  reading,  although 
willing  (i.e.,  purposing)  to  show  his  wrath.  "The  wrath"  is  often 
a  technical  term  for  the  judgment  day  (5:9;  I  Thess.  i:io). 
A  statement  of  the  case  more  thoroughgoing  than  that  in  v.  21. 
God's  action  is  not  the  quick  decision  of  a  potter,  soon  over  and 
soon  forgotten,  but  a  deliberate  action  long  drawn  out,  so  that  all 
the  world  may  have  ample  time  to  realize  clearly  just  what  is 
happening.  Here  again  it  may  be  said  (i)  that  Paul  does  not 
deny  that  God  has  a  reason,  although  it  is  one  that  no  man  can 
understand,  and  (2)  that  God's  ultimate  purpose  is  a  merciful 
one  (11:32).  To  show.  The  same  word  used  in  the  quotation 
from  Exodus  (v.  17).  Paul  has  the  case  of  Pharaoh  in  his  mind. 
Vessels  of  wrath.  The  potter's  figure  again.  Vessels  upon  whom 
he  proposes  to  visit  his  wrath,  namely  Pharaoh  and  his  agents. 
Fitted  unto  destruction.  Apparently  fitted  by  God  for  destruction , 
which  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  vs.  17-19  (cf.  also  "he  prepared" 
V.  23).  Destruction  is  not  drowning  in  the  Red  Sea  but  destruc- 
tion in  the  judgment  day  (cf.  Phil.  3:  19  where  the  same  word 
occurs  although  translated  "perdition"),  because  it  is  contrasted 
with  "glory"  (v.  23)  which  evidently  refers  to  life  in  the  Messianic 
Age. 

23.  And.  Omitted  in  some  MSS.,  in  which  case  the  following 
clause  expresses  the  purpose  of  the  verb  "endured."  If  "and" 
be  retained,  the  word  "endured"  is  to  be  understood  after  it,  so 
that  the  sense  in  either  case  is  the  same.  Glory.  The  word  is 
perhaps  suggested  by  the  case  of  Moses  (v.  15)  who  was  shown 

196 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE    ROMANS  9:26 

24.  even  us,  whom  he  also  called,  not  from  the  Jews 
only,  but  also  from  the  Gentiles? 

25.  As  he  saith  also  in  Hosea,  I  will  call  that  my  people 
which  was  not  my  people;  And  her  beloved,  which 
was  not  beloved. 

26.  And  it  shall  be,  that  in  the  place  where  it  was  said 

God's  glory  (Ex.   33:18-19),  but  the  reference  here  is  to  the 
heavenly  glory  of  the  New  Age. 

24.  He  called.  Paul  is  now  in  the  full  swing  of  Christian 
phraseology.  All  who  become  Christians  Paul  believes  to  have 
risen  up  in  response  to  a  constraining  "call,"  or  summons,  of  God. 
(8:30,  I.  Cor.  1:2,  I  Thess.  4:7).  Us.  Christians,  not  simply 
Moses  and  the  Jewish  bondmen  of  Pharaoh's  day.  Paul  evi- 
dently does  not  interpret  scripture  with  constraining  sense  of  its 
historical  meaning  but  directly  applies  its  phraseology  to  the 
contemporary  situation  (cf.  I  Cor.  9:  9-10).  Not  from  the  Jews 
only — as  might  have  been  expected  since  those  whom  God  deliv- 
ered from  Pharaoh  were  Jews.  Paul  considers  Jews  to  be  still 
first  in  God's  mind  (i :  16,  2:  lo-ii),  as  will  become  evident  to  all 
in  a  few  years  (11:  21,  24,  29).  _ 

25.  Paul's  Gentile  readers  will  be  comforted  by  realizing  that 
scripture  proves  them  to  have  been  included  in  the  group  on 
whom  God  long  ago  willed  to  have  mercy.  Paul  finds_  proof  of 
this  in  Hos.  2:  23.  It  is  not  an  exact  quotation  from  either  the 
Hebrew  or  the  LXX.  Perhaps  it  may  be  the  form  in  which  he 
found  it  in  some  collection  of  quotations  in  use  among  Gentile 
Christians.     (Harris,  Sanday). 

In  the  original  context  Hosea  is  not  speaking  of  Gentiles  but  of 
the  disobedient  Ten  Tribes,  whose  restoration  to  God's  favor  he 
predicts.  Hosea  had  named  his  two  children  homiletically,  the 
little  girl  "Lo-ruhamah"  (Not-pitied),  and  the  boy  "Lo-ammi" 
(Not-my-people),  so  that  they  might  be  a  constant  sermon  to  the 
Ten  Tribes,  teaching  them  that  they  were  the  objects^  of  God's 
displeasure.  If  Paul  recognized  the  original  application  of  the 
words,  he  may  have  used  them  to  show  that  God  takes  into 
covenant  relation  with  himself  those  who  have  not  been  sustain- 
ing such  a  relation  to  him,  of  which  class  Gentiles  would  be  an 
illustration.  The  quotation  is  used,  however,  as  if  Paul  thought  it 
applied  directly  to  Gentiles,  and  this  would  reflect  the  current  idea 
if  it  was  found  in  an  existing  collection  of  messianic  prophecies. 

26.  A  quotation  from  Hos.  i :  10.  The  word  "there"  does  not 
occur  in  Hosea.     Perhaps  it  did  occur  in  the  form  in  which  the 

197 


9:27 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my  people,  There  shall 
they  be  called  sons  of  the  living  God. 

27.  And  Isaiah  crieth  concerning  Israel,  If  the  number 
of  the  children  of  Israel  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea, 
it  is  the  remnant  that  shall  be  saved : 

28.  for  the  Lord  will  execute  his  word  upon  the  earth, 
finishing  it  and  cutting  it  short. 

passage  was  quoted  in  the  list  of  quotations  from  which  it  is  con- 
ceivable Paul  took  it.  Or  it  may  be  that  to  Paul's  mind  the 
word  designates  Palestine,  which  is  the  place  referred  to  by  Hosea 
(Sanday).  If  this  be  the  case  it  perhaps  incidentally  implies 
Paul's  eager  hope  that  he  may  find  hearty  recognition  of  Gentile 
Christianity  on  the  part  of  the  Jewish  Christians  in  Palestine 
whom  he  will  soon  visit  (15:  25,  31). 

(4)  God's  policy  of  selecting  some  and  passing  others  by  among 
the  Jews  appears,  not  only  in  the  case  of  the  patriarclml 
families,  but  later  in  Isaiah's  time  as  well,  g:  2'/-2g. 

"But  as  I  said  before,  God  has  always  been  selecting  some  and 
rejecting  others  in  his  dealing  with  Israel.  In  Isaiah's  day  there 
was  only  a  remnant  that  God  proposed  to  save.  Isaiah  said: 
'Even  though  the  number  should  be  as  numerous  as  the  seashore 
sand,  it  would  still  be  only  the  remnant  that  would  be  saved  (27). 
For  God  in  his  judgment  will  make  a  swift  and  decisive  end  of 
them'  (28).  And  again,  as  Isaiah  had  said  earlier  in  his  prophecy: 
*Unless  the  God  of  hosts  had  left  us  a  little  seed  from  which  to 
make  a  new  beginning,  we  should  have  disappeared  from  the  face 
of  the  earth  as  utterly  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah'  (29)." 

27-28.  Isaiah  crieth.  Isaiah  10:  22  is  speaking  of  the  remnant 
that  escaped  from  the  king  of  Assyria.  It  seems  impossible  to 
suppose  that  Paul  is  quoting  Isaiah  to  prove  that  very  few  Jews 
will  ever  be  saved,  because  according  to  ch.  1 1  this  is  clearly  not 
Paul's  expectation.  He  is  rather  citing  Isaiah  to  show  that  God's 
policy  of  proceeding  by  a  method  of  selection  in  dealing  with  his 
people  had  reappeared  in  the  prophet's  time.  In  Isaiah's  day 
there  had  been  the  passing  over  of  some  of  the  nation,  just  as  in 
the  case  of  the  patriarchal  families  and  in  the  case  of  the  stubborn 
generation  of  Paul's  contemporaries.  Paul  may  also  incidentally 
be  thinking  of  the  faithful  "remnant"  in  Isaiah's  day  as  like  the 
faithful  "remnant"  found  in  the  perverse  generation  of  his  own 
day  (11:5),  but  he  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the  great  multitude 
of  unbelieving  Jews,  like  the  "sand  of  the  sea,"  found  in  Isaiah's 

198 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


9:30 


29.  And,  as  Isaiah  hath  said  before,  Except  the  Lord 

of  Sabaoth   had  left  us  a  seed,  We  had  become  as 

Sodom,  and  had  been  made  like  unto  Gomorrah. 

2.  The  present  plight  of  the  Jews  is  due  to  their  obstinate 

and  inexcusable  refusal  of  faith-righteousness,  9: 30- 

10: 21. 

day  and  again  in  his  own.     Finishing  it  and  cutting  it  short. 
Emphasizes  the   thoroughness  and  decisiveness  of  the  process. 

29.  Isaiah  hath  said  before.  In  an  earHer  part  of  his  prophecy 
(1:9),  showing  that  in  his  own  time,  just  as  in  Paul's  day,  the 
people  came  near  being  as  utterly  destroyed  as  were  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah.  If  "said  before"  means  "beforehand,"  then  Paul  holds 
that  Isaiah  predicted  the  terrible  failure  of  Paul's  own  generation. 

In  9:  1-29  Paul  has  asserted  that  the  generation  now  nearly 
ended  had  evidently  been  passed  over  by  God  in  his  process  of  in- 
troducing messianic  salvation  by  a  policy  of  selection.  In  9:  30- 
10:21  he  argues  that  this  generation  (as  well  as  all  others  simi- 
larly treated)  is  to  blame  for  its  rejection,  and  that  its  fault  has 
consisted  in  the  failure  to  have  faith-righteousness.  How  it 
could  be  to  blame  for  its  failure  when  God  had  willed  to  pass  it 
over,  Paul  does  not  explain.  He  has  clearly  recognized  the  diffi- 
culty and  summarily  dealt  with  it  in  9:  19-20.  His  chief  concern 
is  to  propagate  his  own  triumphant  Christian  experience,  and  he 
evidently  feels  no  need  of  discussing  the  difficulty  further. 

While  this  whole  section  on  the  culpability  of  the  Jews  is  pri- 
marily a  part  of  Paul's  effort  to  make  Gentile  Christians  under- 
stand the  Jewish  situation,  present  predicament  and  hopeful 
prospect,  he  probably  also  hopes  that  what  he  says  here  may  in- 
directly influence  Jews.  It  is  a  part  of  the  platform  to  which 
both  Jews  and  Gentiles  must  be  brought  as  they  stand  waiting 
for  the  Lord  and  the  New  Age. 

(i)  Although  the  Jews  have  always  seemed  to  be  specialists  in 
righteousness  they  have  been  outstripped  in  the  sphere  of 
their  specialty  by  Gentiles.  This  is  because  they  failed 
to  seek  the  faith-righteousness  that  God  reveals  through 
Christ,  g:  30-10: 5. 

"What  then  is  to  be  said  regarding  the  respective  relations  of 
Jew  and  Gentile  to  messianic  salvation?  Sim.ply  that  the  Gen- 
tiles, who  in  their  history  and  literature  seem  to  have  shown 
very  little  interest  in  righteousness,  have,  strangely  enough, 
attained  righteousness — but  of  course  a  righteousness  that  comes 
by  faith  (30).  Israel,  on  the  other  hand,  gave  its  zealous  atten- 
tion to  the  righteous  law  of  Moses,  but  failed  utterly  to  attain  to 

199 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


30.  What  shall  we  say  then  ?  That  the  Gentiles,  which 
followed  not  after  righteousness,  attained  to  right- 
eousness, even  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith: 

31.  but  Israel,  following  after  a  law  of  righteousness, 
did  not  arrive  at  that  law. 

the  ideal  of  righteousness  held  up  in  the  law  (31).  Why  did  they 
fail  to  live  the  righteous  life  that  the  law  demanded?  Because 
they  did  not  adopt  faith  as  their  method,  but  instead  set  up  an 
elaborate  system  of  debits  and  credits  for  disobedient  and  obedi- 
ent deeds.  The  crucified  Christ  who  is  the  object  of  the  faith- 
righteous  man's  faith  seemed  to  them  to  be  offensive  (32).  He 
was  the  veritable  stone  of  'stumbling'  and  'rock  of  offense,' 
that  Isaiah  said  would  be  set  up  by  God  in  Zion  to  be  the  object 
of  a  faith  that  would  secure  a  triumphant  verdict  of  acquittal  in 
the  judgment  day  (33).  Let  me  assure  you  again,  my  Gentile 
Brothers,  that  this  sad  situation  of  my  countrymen  appeals  to  me 
powerfully.  That  which  would  rejoice  me  above  all  else,  and 
for  which  I  am  always  making  petition  to  God,  is  that  my  nation 
may  soon  be  included  in  Jesus'  messianic  salvation  (10:  i). 
There  is  great  reason  for  such  desire.  I  can  testify  from  my  in- 
timate acquaintance  with  them,  and  from  my  own  experience 
before  I  began  the  life  of  faith,  that  they  are  busy  in  their  attempt 
to  do  God's  will.  The  trouble  is  that  they  have  no  clear  percep- 
tion of  what  God's  will  is  (2).  They  ignore  the  faith-righteous- 
ness that  God  calls  for,  and  insist  on  trying  to  use  the  law  to 
establish  a  scheme  of  righteousness  of  their  own  devising.  They 
do  not  subject  themselves  humbly  to  God  and  to  his  way  of 
securing  righteousness  by  having  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  (3).  A 
stop  is  put  by  Christ  to  this  futile  use  of  law  as  a  means  of  gain- 
ing righteousness,  whenever  anyone  becomes  a  man  of  faith  (4). 
They  might  know  that  no  mere  excess  of  obediences  over  disobe- 
diences to  the  law  could  constitute  righteousness,  for  Moses  him- 
self says  that  a  man  must  do  whatever  the  law  commands  if  he 
would  secure  righteousness  by  means  of  it  (5)." 

9:30.  What  shall  we  say  then?  About  the  present  situation 
in  which  Jews  seem  to  have  been  passed  over  by  God  in  favor  of 
Gentiles.  The  Gentiles.  Gentiles, — no  article  in  Greek.  Those 
who  belong  to  the  Gentile  class.  Which  followed  not  after  right- 
eousness. Gentiles  had  not  pressed  on  after  righteousness,  but 
nevertheless  they  laid  hold  of  it  as  their  prize  (cf.  Phil.  3:  12). 
It  came  into  their  hands  purely  through  God's  mercy — and  of 
course  it  was  God's  kind  of  righteousness,  faith-righteousness. 

31 .  A  law  of  righteousness.     A  law  characterized  by  righteous- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  10  :i 

32.  Wherefore?  Because  they  sought  it  not  by  faith, 
but  as  it  were  by  works.  They  stumbled  at  the 
stone  of  stumbUng ; 

33.  even  as  it  is  written,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  stone 
of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of  offence:  And  he  that 
believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  put  to  shame. 

10.  Brethren,  my  heart's  desire  and  my  supplication 
to  God  is  for  them,  that  they  may  be  saved. 

ness,  Israel  pursued  not  righteousness  but  a  righteous  law. 
Paul  reiterates  here  the  thought  of  7:  12,  which  his  Gentile  readers 
need  to  heed,  namely,  that  the  ideal  presented  in  the  law  is 
righteous.  The  trouble  with  the  Jews,  Paul  would  say,  was  that 
they  were  more  interested  in  the  details  of  the  law  than  in  its 
ideal.  They  made  a  wrong  use  of  the  law,  and  therefore  did  not 
arrive  at  that  law,  that  is,  they  did  not  succeed  in  meeting  the  re- 
quirements of  the  righteous  law.  They  did  not  arrive  at  its 
ideal. 

32.  Because  they  sought  it  not  by  faith.  If  they  had  entered 
into  faith  union  with  Christ  they  would  have  found  themselves 
able  to  attain  the  righteous  ideal  of  the  law,  namely,  the  life  of 
love  (13:8-10).  By  works.  See  on  3:28.  The  stone  of 
stumbling.  The  famous  stone  of  stumbling,  apparently  a  com- 
mon designation  of  Christ  (cf.  I  Cor.  1:23).  He  was  meant  to 
be  the  object  of  faith,  leading  to  the  faith-righteousness  which 
the  Jews  failed  to  get. 

33.  A  combination  of  Is,  28:  16  and  8:  14,  where  there  are 
various  readings  in  the  LXX  and  other  Greek  translations. 
Part  of  the  quotation  recurs  in  10:  11  and  in  I  Pet.  2:  6,  8.  The 
passage  from  Ps.  118:  22  speaking  of  a  building  "stone"  rejected, 
also  applied  to  Christ  (Mk,  12: 10),  was  sometimes  connected  with 
this  (i  Pet.  2:7).  Very  possibly  the  passages  were  in  common  use  in 
in  some  collection  used  by  Christians  as  proof  texts,  and  in  this  way 
fusion  and  variation  in  phraseology  occurred.  The  general 
meaning  here  is  clear  enough.  A  stone  of  stumbling  is  a  stone 
over  which  one  stumbles  and  by  which  he  might  be  kept  from  go- 
ing on  in  the  path.  The  Jews  found  such  an  obstacle  in  Jesus 
especially  because  of  his  crucifixion.  A  "rock  of  offense"  as 
applied  to  Christ  evidently  has  the  same  meaning,  but  it  is  not  so 
easy  to  see  what  the  figure  is.  In  Isaiah  the  reference  in  both 
cases  is  directly  to  God. 

10:  I.  My  heart's  desire.     The  word  translated  desire  means 
201 


io:2 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


2.  For  I  bear  them  witness  that  they  have  a  zeal  for 
God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge. 

3.  For  being  ignorant  of  God's  righteousness,  and 
seeking  to  establish  their  own,  they  did  not  sub- 
ject themselves  to  the  righteousness  of  God. 

4.  For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  unto  righteousness 
to  every  one  that  believe th. 

5.  For  Moses  writeth  that  the  man  that  doeth  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  the  law  shall  live  thereby. 


good  will  or  delight.  As  in  9:1-5  Paul  protests  against  the 
false  notion  of  many  Gentile  Christians  that  he  has  given 
up  all  hope  or  benevolent  desire  of  messianic  salvation  for  his 
nation.  My  supplication  to  God  is  for  them.  That  is,  for  the 
nation,  not  for  the  generation  just  passing  away  which  according 
to  ch.  9  has  been  evidently  passed  over  by  God. 

2.  I  bear  them  witness.  As  one  who  has  seen  the  nation's 
devotion  to  the  study  of  the  law,  and  who  remembers  his  own 
zeal  when  he  was  himself  a  devotee  of  the  law  (Gal.  1 :  14,  Phil. 
3:6).  Not  according  to  knowledge.  Clear  knowledge  of  God's 
will. 

3.  God's  righteousness.  See  in  1:17.  Their  own.  Some- 
thing that  they  could  claim  as  righteousness  on  the  strength^  of 
credits  for  specific  obediences.  See  on  3:20.  They  are  like 
children  who  persist  in  trying  to  please  a  parent  by  doing  the 
things  he  does  not  want  done,  and  who  refuse  to  recognize  what 
he  does  want  done. 

4.  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  unto  righteousness.  "An  end 
of  law  is  Christ  with  reference  to  righteousness."  Paul  does 
not  mean  that  obedience  to  the  law  was  the  means  of  securing 
righteousness  until  Christ  appeared,  for  he  has  said  in  ch.  4  that 
none,  not  even  Abraham  and  David,  had  righteousness  by  law. 
He  means  that  this  sort  of  futile  effort  to  get  righteousness  by 
law,  which  he  has  been  criticising  in  the  Jews,  ceases  as  soon  as 
a  man  commits  himself  in  faith  to  Jesus  Christ. 

5.  For.  Introduces  a  clause  showing  that  the  effort  to  secure 
law-righteousness,  which  ceases  in  the  case  of  the  believer,  is  in- 
deed futile.  Moses  himself  says  (Lev.  18:5)  that  the  man  who 
would  be  righteous  by  law  must  do  the  law,  that  is,  do  it  per- 
fectly; and  the  implication  is  that  of  course  no  one  succeeds  in 
doing  this. 

202 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  10 : 6 

6.  But  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  saith  thus, 
Say  not  in  thy  heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into 
heaven?  (that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down:) 

(2)  Faith  righteousness  is  in  its  nature  so  clear,  simple,  and 
close  at  hand,  that  the  Jews  are  without  excuse  for  having 
Jailed  to  understand  and  adopt  it,  10:  6-1  j. 
"Righteousness  by  faith  does  not  merely  make  a  bare  appeal 
to  men  to  keep  commandments.  It  presents  rather  the  nearness 
of  Christ  and  the  strength  of  his  gracious  fellowship  as  the  way  to 
righteousness.  We  may  use  of  it  in  this  particular  the  eloquent 
language  of  Moses:  'Do  not  say  in  thy  heart,  Who  shall  ascend 
into  heaven'? — that  is,  as  we  men  of  faith  would  say,  to  bring 
Christ  down,  for  he  is  already  with  us  (6).  Or  'who  shall  go  down 
into  the  abyss  of  the  dead?' — that  is,  as  we  would  say,  to  bring 
Christ  up  from  the  grave,  for  he  is  already  at  hand  (7).  Rather 
we  may  say,  still  using  Moses'  language:  'Near  thee  is  the  word,  in 
thy  very  mouth  and  heart,'  meaning  by  this  the  message  regarding 
faith  in  the  ever-present  Christ  that  we  are  always  preaching  (8) ; 
namely,  If  you  utter  with  your  mouth  the  eager  cry  'Lord  Jesus,' 
and  believe  in  your  heart  the  truth  pressing  for  control  there — 
that  God  brought  him  up  from  the  realm  of  the  dead  into  the  glory  of 
the  spirit  world — you  will  be  saved  from  condemnation  in  the  judg- 
ment day  (9).  For  it  is  with  a  'heart'  that  one  commits  himself 
in  faith  to  the  control  of  Jesus,  and  so  is  pronounced  righteous;  and 
it  is  with  a  'mouth'  that  one  in  unabashed  confession  calls  Jesus 
Lord,  and  so  is  assured  a  place  in  the  glorious  life  of  the  New  Age 
(10).  The  scripture  has  assured  us  that  no  one  who  has  this 
faith  proclaimed  in  our  message  shall  experience  the  shame  of 
condemnation  in  the  judgment  day  (11).  The  Scripture  says 
'no  one,'  and  this  includes  not  only  Gentiles,  but  Jews  as  well, 
whom  you  Gentile  Christians  think  God  has  cast  off!  The  same 
Lord  is  the  Lord  of  all,  and  rich  in  mercy  to  all  who  call  upon  him, 
Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles  (12).  'Everyone  who  shall  call  upon  him 
will  be  saved,'  the  scripture  says.  The  message  of  faith  is  simple 
and  near  at  hand,  clearly  intended  for  all.  The  unbelieving  Jews 
are  without  excuse  (13)." 

6.  But  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith.  Contrasted  with 
the  futile  effort  to  secure  law-righteousness  by  piling  up  creditable 
obediences  to  specific  commandments,  is  righteousness  by  faith, 
which  consists  in  the  establishment  of  a  loving  personal  relation- 
ship with  Jesus  as  Lord  (v.  9) .  The  special  point  emphasized  here 
is  that  faith-righteousness  is  simple  and  near  at  hand  ("nigh  thee" 
v.  8),  because  Christ  the  object  of  faith  is  close  at  hand.     In 

203 


io:7 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


7.  or,  Who  shall  descend  into  the  abyss?  (that  is,  to 
bring  Christ  up  from  the  dead.) 

8.  But  what  saith  it?  The  word  is  nigh  thee,  in  thy 
mouth,  and  in  thy  heart:  that  is,  the  word  of 
faith,  which  we  preach: 

9.  because   if   thou   shalt  confess  with   thy   mouth 

making  this  point  Paul  takes  words  from  Deut.  30:  11 -14  in 
which  Moses  set  the  law  plainly  before  the  people,  and  so  adapts 
these  words  as  to  make  them  describe  faith-righteousness  and  the 
object  of  faith,  Jesus  Christ.  Did  Paul  recognize  that  Moses 
was  urging  upon  the  people  strict  obedience  to  all  the  command- 
ments in  God's  law,  and  did  he  feel  that  he  himself  was  urging 
upon  his  readers  something  different,  in  describing  which  he  could 
nevertheless  use  Moses'  language?  Paul  of  course  holds  that 
God  never  supposed  his  law  would  be  so  obeyed  as  to  lead  to 
righteousness,  and  that  he  introduced  it  into  the  world  simply  to 
bring  latent  sin  out  to  the  surface  (5 :  20,  7 :  7-13).  Paul's  theory 
of  scripture  would  seem  to  require  him  to  hold  that  Moses  took 
the  same  view  of  the  law,  for  it  would  seem  unthinkable  to  Paul 
that  Moses  should  misunderstand  God  at  so  vital  a  point.  There- 
fore Paul  would  naturally  understand  Moses  to  be  arguing  di- 
rectly for  faith-righteousness  in  the  Deuteronomy  passage.  He 
perhaps  found  direct  evidence  of  this  in  the  fact  that  Moses  is 
urging  upon  the  people  and  their  seed  a  "circumcised  (LXX 
'thoroughly  cleansed')  heart"  that  will  "love  God  with  all  the 
heart  and  soul,"  so  as  to  "live"  (Deut.  30:6).  Since  to  Paul's 
own  mind  such  love,  fitting  for  "life"  in  the  messianic  kingdom, 
was  the  outcome  and  essence  of  faith-righteousness  (Gal.  5:6, 
13,  14,  Rom_  13:  8-10),  he  could  apply  Moses'  language  directly 
to  Christ  without  any  sense  of  adding  anything  more  than  an 
obvious  explanation  of  what  seemed  to  him  to  be  Moses'  own 
thought. 

7.  Who  shall  descend  mto  the  abyss?  The  Deuteronomy  pas- 
sage reads:  "Who  shall  cross  over  the  sea?"  "Descend  into  the 
abyss"  is  a  better  antithesis  to  "ascend  into  heaven,"  and  is 
used  of  the  ship  going  down  into  the  trough  of  the  waves  Ps. 
107:  26.     Here  it  refers  to  the  abode  of  the  dead  (cf.  Ps.  71 :  20). 

^  8.  The  word  of  faith.  The  message  about  faith  and  faith- 
righteousness  which  is  the  central  theme  of  Paul's  gospel  (i :  16-17). 

_  9.  Because.  Better  "that,"  or  "namely,"  introducing  the 
simplest  form  in  which  Paul  ever  states  the  content  of  his  gospel 
of  faith-righteousness.     The  belief  of  the  heart  would  come 

204 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  lo:i2 

Jesus  as  Lord,  and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart  that 
God  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be 
saved : 

10.  for  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteous- 
ness ;  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 
salvation. 

11.  For  the  scripture  saith,  Whosoever  believeth  on 
him  shall  not  be  put  to  shame. 

12.  For  there  is  no  distinction  between  Jew  and  Greek: 

logically  before  confession  with  the  mouth,  but  the  order  is  deter- 
mined by  the  quotation:  "in  thy  mouth  and  in  thy  heart"  (v. 
8).  Jesus  as  Lord.  Literally  "Lord  Jesus."  This  use  of 
the  title  "Lord"  was  commonly  understood  to  designate  one 
worshipped  e.g.,  "My  Lord  Serapis."  "No  one  speaking  in 
God's  Spirit  can  say  'Anathema  Jesus';  and  no  one  can  say 
'Lord  Jesus'  except  in  the  Holy  Spirit"  (I  Cor.  12:  3).  See 
on  1 :  4.  God  raised  him  from  the  dead.  By  being  raised  from 
the  dead  he  is  introduced  into  the  spirit  world,  the  realm  in 
which  he  is  to  act  as  messianic  "Lord."  He  is  brought  up  into 
the  realm  of  the  living,  where  men  may  in  spirit  find  him  and 
call  him  "Lord." 

ID.  Believeth  imto  righteousness.  Breaking  away  from  the 
influence  of  the  quotation  Paul  presents  the  two  acts  in  their 
more  logical  order.  Believing  "with  a  heart"  that  Jesus  was 
raised  from  the  dead  involves  believing  him  to  be  "Lord,"  other- 
wise "a  mouth"  could  not  confess.  The  two  actions  of  course 
are  not  really  separable  but  are  spoken  of  as  separate  because  of 
the  language  used  in  the  quotation.  Righteousness  and  salva- 
tion are  also  practically  inseparable.  Righteousness,  or  the 
pronouncement  of  acquittal  in  the  judgment  day,  leaves  the  ac- 
quitted free  to  enter  into  the  life  of  the  Messianic  Age  that  fol- 
lows the  judgment  and  that  is  called  "the  salvation."  See  on 
1:16. 

11.  Shall  not  be  put  to  shame.  By  being  condemned  in  the 
judgment  day  and  failing  to  enter  into  "the  salvation."  A  quo- 
tation from  Is.  28:  16  according  to  the  LXX.  The  Hebrew  reads 
"shall  not  be  in  haste,"  shall  not  hasten  away,  fleeing  in  shame 
from  the  face  of  God. 

12.  For  there  is  no  distinction.  Explains  "whosoever"  in 
V.  II.  Here  it  is  the  Jew  whose  standing  with  God  has  been 
called  in  question  by  the  Gentile. 

205 


I0:i3  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

for  the  same  Lord  is  Lord  of  all,  and  is  rich  unto 
all  that  call  upon  him: 

13.  for,  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved. 

14.  How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they 
have  not  believed?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in 

13.  Whosoever.     Gives  the  reason  for  the  word  "all"  in  v.  12. 
Quotation  from.  Joel  2 :  32.     In  the  original  context  the  judgment 
day  "the  great  and  terrible  day  of  Jehovah"  is  represented  as  at 
hand. 
(3)   The  Jews  cannot  excuse  themselves  by  saying  that  the  mes- 
sage about  faith  failed  to  reach  them  for  it  has  been  widely 
published,  10: 14-18. 

"It  is  of  course  natural  to  say  that  if  men  are  to  call  upon  the 
Lord  Jesus,  as  I  have  just  urged,  they  must  first  have  believed  in 
him;  and  that  this  they  cannot  do  if  they  have  not  first  heard  him 
speaking  through  his  messengers;  and  that  they  cannot  hear  him 
if  there  be  no  preacher  ready  to  be  his  voice  (14);  and  that  there 
can  be  no  preachers  unless  preachers  are  sent  forth  by  God. 
And  welcome  messengers  ought  they  to  be  whose  swift  feet,  as 
they  come  running  with  good  news  for  men  in  distress,  should 
seem  beautiful,  as  they  did  in  Isaiah's  day  (15)!  But  the  sad 
fact  is  that  the  Jews  did  not  welcome  and  obey  this  glad  message 
of  faith-righteousness.  We  can  say  of  our  day  just  what  Isaiah 
said  of  the  countrymen  to  whom  he  brought  good  news:  'Lord 
where  is  the  man  that  has  believed  it!'  (16).  It  is  true  then,  as  I 
was  saying,  that  you  must  hear  before  you  believe,  and  that  there 
must  first  of  all  be  a  word  about  Christ  for  you  to  believe  (17). 
But  can  the  Jews  say  in  excuse  of  themselves  that  they  have  not 
heard?  Certainly  not,  for  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  of  faith 
by  Christ's  preachers  has  been  as  world  wide  as  the  proclamation 
of  God's  goodness  by  the  glorious  heavens,  of  which  the  Psalmist 
speaks.  Its  resounding  note  has  been  heard  in  all  the  earth. 
It  has  gone  to  every  Jewish  colony  (18)." 

14-15.  In  this  rapid  series  of  questions  Paul  presents  the 
various  excuses  that  might  conceivably  be  made  for  the  failure 
of  this  perverse  generation  of  Jews  to  secure  faith-righteousness. 
The  questions  culminate  in  the  suggestion  that  possibly  no  one 
has  been  sent  to  them.  One  is  tempted  to  think  that  there  is  in 
the  background  of  Paul's  mind  the  case  of  the  Spaniards  who  are 
to  be  the  objects  of  his  next  great  missionary  endeavor  (15:  19- 
28),  and  that  he  is  thinking  of  receiving  from  the  Roman  church 

206 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  lo:i8 

him  whom  they  have  not  heard?  and  how  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher? 

15.  and  how  shall  they  preach,  except  they  be  sent? 
even  as  it  is  written,  How  beautiful  are  the  feet 
of  them  that  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things! 

16.  But  they  did  not  all  hearken  to  the  glad  tidings. 
For  Isaiah  saith.  Lord,  who  hath  believed  our 
report? 

17.  So  belief  comeih  of  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
word  of  Christ. 

18.  But  I  say,  Did  they  not  hear?  Yea,  verily,  Their 
sound  went  out  into  all  the  earth,  And  their 
words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world. 

such  help  for  his  Spanish  mission  as  the  Antioch  church  had  given 
him  in  his  earHer  missionary  work.  However  the  main  idea  in 
these  questions  is  rather  that  the  whole  process  of  salvation  must 
run  back  to  God  as  its  instigator.  The  sending  out  of  preachers 
by  God  originates  the  movement  (cf.  Gal.  i:  15-16).  This  is  in 
accord  with  the  whole  trend  of  thought  in  ch.  9  which  rests  every 
thing  on  the  gracious  will  of  God.  The  thought  then  is,  Did 
God  send  this  perverse  generation  no  preachers  and  are  they 
therefore  excusable?  Whom  they  have  not  heard — Christ  in 
the  person  of  his  messengers.  How  beautiful  are  the  feet.  A 
quotation  (Is.  52 : 7)  in  which  the  welcome  accorded  to  the 
messengers  shows  how  necessary  they  are.  The  swiftly  running 
feet  that  have  brought  them  seem  beautiful. 

16.  But  they  did  not  all  hearken.  The  situation  in  Isaiah's 
day,  when  God  passed  over  many,  has  been  alluded  to  before 
(9:27,  29).  Here  Isaiah,  whose  allusion  to  messengers  has  just 
been  cited,  says  that  the  lack  of  "belief,"  or  "faith,"  on  the  part 
of  his  contemporaries  made  them  inexcusable,  just  as  has  been 
the  case  with  the  perverse  generation  in  Paul's  day  (9:32). 

17.  A  summary  of  the  essentials — a  message,  hearing  it,  be- 
lieving it.  By  the  word  of  Christ.  Through  or  in  the  word 
about  Christ  (cf.  v.  8  "word  of  faith")  isfound  the  message.  Or 
the  word  of  Christ  may  be  the  word  which  Christ  speaks  in  the 
person  of  his  preachers  (cf.  v.  14). 

18.  They  surely  had  a  chance  to  hear  the  message  for  its 
preaching  has  been  as  widespread  as  the  declaration  of  God's 

207 


io:i9  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

19.  But  I  say,  Did  Israel  not  know?  First  Moses 
saith,  I  will  provoke  you  to  jealousy  with  that 
which  is  no  nation,  With  a  nation  void  of  under- 
standing will  I  anger  you. 

20.  And  Isaiah  is  very  bold,  and  saith,  I  was  found  of 

goodness  by  the  far  stretching  heavens,  that  is,  it  has  covered  the 
earth  (Ps.  19:  4).  It  is  implied  that  the  Christian  message  had 
been  carried  widely  to  the  Jews.  The  extensiveness  of  Paul's  work 
among  the  Gentiles  is  emphasized  in  15:  18-19  (cf.  i :  8,  Col  i :  6), 
The  work  of  the  other  apostles  (cf .  Gal.  2 :  7-8)  had  probably  been 
as  far  reaching  among  Jews  scattered  over  the  empire  (cf.  I 
Peter   1:1). 

(4)  The  Jews  cannot  say  in  excuse  that  they  were  not  adequate- 
ly warned  of  their  danger.  Both  Moses  and  Isaiah 
warned  them,  10:  IQ-21. 

*'I  say  further,  it  is  not  true,  is  it,  that  Israel  had  no  chance  to 
know  that  messianic  salvation  might  slip  from  them  into  other 
hands?  Certainly  not.  In  the  first  place  Moses  represents  God 
as  saying:  'I  will  use  what  you  regard  as  no  nation — Gentiles — 
to  provoke  you  to  a  jealous  desire  for  the  gospel.  I  will  use 
people  that  you  regard  as  spiritually  stupid  to  anger  you  into 
appreciation  of  your  privilege'  (19).  Later  Isaiah  with  great 
boldness  delivered  the  unpopular  message  which  announced  that 
Gentiles  were  to  be  given  Jewish  prerogatives:  *I  was  found  by 
those  who  had  not  been  seeking  me,  and  was  made  known  to  those 
who  had  not  been  inquiring  for  me'  (20).  But  with  reference 
to  Israel  he  says:  'All  day  long  I  stretched  out  my  hands  to  a  dis- 
obedient and  obstinate  people.'  They  certainly  have  had  ample 
warning  that  Gentiles  might  supplant  them  in  their  chief  privi- 
lege, although  the  results  of  the  warning  have  not  been  great  as 
yet  (21)." 

19.  Did  Israel  not  know?  Know  what?  Possibly,  know  the 
meaning  of  the  message  about  faith,  in  which  case  the  following 
verses  are  understood  to  emphasize  the  fact  that,  since  Gentiles 
understood  the  message,  certainly  it  must  have  been  intelligible  to 
Jews.  But  more  probably,  that  which  Israel  did  not  know  was 
its  danger,  or  that  Gentiles  would  outstrip  Jews,  the  thought  with 
which  the  section  began  (9:  30-31)  and  the  thought  which  is  em- 
phasized in  the  reply  here.  Moses  saith.  Moses  foretold  the 
competition  (Deut.  32:21). 

20-21.  Isaiah  is  very  bold.  Boldly  delivered  to  his  people 
the  unpopular  message  that  there  would  be  Gentiles  who  would 

208 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  II :  I 

them  that  sought  me  not ;  I  became  manifest  unto 
them  that  asked  not  of  me. 
21.  But  as  to  Israel  he  saith,  All  the  day  long  did  I 
spread  out  my  hands  unto  a  disobedient  and 
gainsaying   people. 

3.  Gentile  Christians  must  never  make  the  proud  as- 
sumption that  God  has  cast  off  his  ancient  people 
and  transferred  his  favor  to  themselves.  The  Jew- 
ish nation  will  soon  join  the  Gentiles  in  accepting 
messianic  salvation.  Their  present  had  situation 
is  simply  a  step  in  the  accomplishment  of  God's 
great  plan  to  deal  mercifully  with  all  the  human 
race,  11:  1-32. 

find  God,  and  Israelites  who  would  turn  from  him.  The  quota- 
tions are  from  Is.  65 :  1-2.  The  prophet  seems  to  be  speaking  not 
about  Gentiles  but  about  Jews. 

Ci)  Gentile  Christians  must  not  say  that  God  has  discarded  his 
people.     Paul  himself  and  Jewish  Christians  scattered 
here  and  there  over  the  empire  are  proof  to  the  contrary^ 
to  say  nothing  of  tJie  impossibility  that  God's  ancient 
choice  of  the  nation  should  ever  be  revoked,  11: 1-6. 
"You  Gentile  Christians  cannot  think,  can  you,  that  God  who 
so  patiently  held  out  hands  of  invitation  to  his  people  (10:21) 
has  with  those  same  hands  pushed  them  off  from  himself  forever! 
I,  whose  pure  Jewish  blood  no  man  may  question,  am  myself 
proof  that  he  has  not.     He  would  not  have  given  to  a  member  of 
a  cast-off  race  the  unique  position  of  leadership  in  the  messianic 
movement  that  his  grace  has  assigned  to  me  (i).     How  can  you 
attribute  to  God  the  unthinkable  inconsistency  of  casting  off  a 
nation  which  he  had  once  clearly  set  before  himself  for  glorifica- 
tion in  the  Messianic  Age!     Or  if  you  think  that  I  stand  prac- 
tically alone,  and  that  I  alone  am  not  sufficient  to  prove  God's 
continuing  regard  for  my  nation,  remember  the  situation  in 
Elijah's  day.     He  thought  that  he  was  alone  and  actually  turned 
against  his  people  in  prayer  to  God,  as  some  of  you  seem  to  im- 
agine that  I  have  done  (2).     He  accused  them  before  God  of 
killing  the  prophets  and  digging  up  the  foundations  of  the  holy  al- 

309 


II :  I  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

11.  I  say  then,  Did  God  cast  off  his  people?     God 
forbid.     For  I  also  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin. 
2.  God  did  not  cast  off  his  people  which  he  foreknew. 

tars.  He  felt  that  he  stood  absolutely  alone  and  that  his  country- 
men were  bent  on  killing  him.  How  much  there  is  indeed  in  my 
situation  that  resembles  his  (3)!  But  what  was  God's  solemn  an- 
swer to  his  prayer?  'I  have  seven  thousand  faithful  worshippers 
among  the  people  who  have  never  bowed  before  the  unmentionable 
Shame!'  (4).  In  this  particular  the  present  situation  resembles 
that  of  Elijah's  time,  for  scattered  here  and  there  are  Chris- 
tian Jews,  a  faithful  remnant,  the  result  of  God's  purpose  to 
proceed  by  a  policy  of  merciful  selection  (5).  Let  no  one  for- 
get for  a  moment  that  the  existence  of  the  remnant  is  due  to  God's 
unbought  mercy.  It  has  not  come  into  existence  through  any 
credits  in  righteousness  accumulated  by  valuable  deeds.  If  it 
had,  God's  merciful  disposition  would  have  no  chance  to  express 
itself  in  merciful  action  (6)." 

1.  Cast  off.  "Push  off,"  contrasted  with  hands  stretched  out 
to  them  in  invitation  (10:21).  The  language  suggests  Ps. 
94:  14  and  I  Sam.  12:  22  where  the  same  Greek  word  is  used  in 
the  LXX.  I  also  am  an  Israelite.  On  Israelite  see  on  9:4. 
Paul,  fully  conscious  of  the  high  position  assigned  to  him  by  God 
(Gal.  1:1,  15)  in  preparing  the  world  for  messianic  salvation,  is  a 
full  blooded  Jew  whose  pedigree  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  is 
clearly  established  (cf.  Phil.  3:5).  Perhaps  Gentile  Christians 
were  sometimes  eager  to  suggest  that  Paul  was  not  really  a  full 
blooded  Jew.  If  God  had  cast  off  the  nation  he  would  certainly 
not  have  shown  such  conspicuous  honor  to  one  of  its  members. 
Paul  allowed  no  false  delicacy  to  obscure  a  proper  sense  of  the 
importance  of  his  own  position,  but  this  sense  was  coupled  with 
due  humility  (I  Cor.  15:8-10). 

2.  His  people  which  he  foreknew.  A  second  proof  that  God 
has  not  cast  off  his  people  is  the  fact  that  he  "foreknew"  thern, 
and  foreknowing  is  the  first  step  in  the  process  that  leads  to  glori- 
fication in  the  Messianic  Age  (8:29).  The  evidence  that  he 
*'foreknew"  them  is  not  given  here  but  is  later  seen  to  be  the 
promises  made  by  God  to  the  fathers  (vs.  16,  28,  29).  Paul 
simply  mentions  the  point  here  in  passing  and  proceeds  to  a  third 
proof,  logically  related  to  his  first  point.  Not  only  is  he  himself 
an  evidence  that  God  has  not  discarded  Jews  but  so  are  the  little 
band  of  his  Jewish  fellow  Christians — like  the  faithful  seven 
thousand  in  Elijah's  day  (vs.  4-5).     What  the  Scripture  saith  of 

210 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  u 


Or  wot  ye  not  what  the  scripture  saith  of  EHjah? 
how  he  pleadeth  with  God  against  Israel, 

3.  Lord,  they  have  killed  thy  prophets,  they  have 
digged  down  thine  altars:  and  I  am  left  alone,  and 
they  seek  my  life. 

4.  But  what  saith  the  answer  of  God  unto  him?  I 
have  left  for  myself  seven  thousand  men,  who 
have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal. 

5.  Even  so  then  at  this  present  time  also  there  is  a 
remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace. 

6  But  if  it  is  by  grace,  it  is  no  more  of  works:  other- 
wise grace  is  no  more  grace. 

Elijah.  Or  "in  Elijah,"  that  is,  in  the  Elijah  section  or  history. 
The  situation  of  Elijah  had  evidently  appealed  to  Paul.  They 
were  seeking  Elijah's  life  just  as  Paul  at  this  very  time  was  in 
daily  danger  of  assassination  (15:  31,  Acts  20:3,  23:12-13,  of. 
I  Cor.  15:  30-31).  Elijah  seemed  "left  alone"  as  Paul  may  have 
been  sometimes  tempted  to  think  that  he  himself  was.  Elijah  made 
the  same  case  against  his  countrymen  that  Paul  sometimes  did  (cf . 
I  Thess.  2 :  14-16).  Vital  religion  seemed  to  have  died  out  in  the 
nation — prophets  "killed  off"  and  altars  "dug  up." 

4.  But  what  saith  the  answer  of  God.  Paul  had  evidently  often 
read  with  comfort  the  story  of  Elijah.  God  was  not  discouraged. 
He  knew  of  seven  thousand  faithful  worshipers.  "Baal"  is 
preceded  by  the  feminine  article  in  the  Greek,  perhaps  because 
the  feminine  word  meaning  "shame"  was  spoken  by  the  rabbis  in 
reading  instead  of  the  repugnant  heathen  word  "Baal,"  and  so  the 
feminine  article  was  commonly  used  as  appropriate  to  the  un- 
written word  actually  spoken. 

5.  At  this  present  time  also  there  is  a  remnant.  The  existence 
of  this  Christian  remnant  proves  that  God  has  not  abandoned  the 
nation.  In  Elijah's  day  the  nation  survived  the  crisis  and  better 
times  came.  Later  in  the  chapter  Paul  will  express  his  assurance 
that  the  nation  as  a  whole  will  survive  the  present  dark  crisis  and 
experience  messianic  salvation.  According  to  the  election  of 
grace.  Reverts  to  the  thought  of  9 :  6-1 1 .  This  remnant  owes 
its  existence  to  God's  policy  of  bestowing  messianic  salvation  by 
a  process  of  selection  that  springs  out  of  his  unbought  mercy. 

6.  If  it  is  by  grace  it  is  no  more  of  works.     Paul  feels  the  need 

211 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


What  then?  That  which  Israel  seeketh  for,  that 
he  obtained  not;  but  the  election  obtained  it,  and 
the  rest  were  hardened: 

according  as  it  is  written,  God  gave  them  a  spirit 
of  stupor,  eyes  that  they  should  not  see,  and  ears 
that  they  should  not  hear,  unto  this  very  day. 


of  insisting  here  again  as  in  9:30-10:5  that  this  remnant  is 
sharply  and  vitally  differentiated  from  the  great  mass  of  the 
nation.  They  are  not  trying  to  accumulate  righteousness  by 
carefully  calculated  obediences  to  specific  commandments. 
Otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace.  If  they  were,  there  would  be 
no  chance  for  the  exercise  of  kindness.  There  would  be  only 
the  cold  payment  of  a  just  debt. 

(2)  What  has  happened  is  that  a  few  of  us,  in  accordance  with 
God's  policy  of  selection,  have  obtained  messianic  salva- 
tion; hut  the  rest  of  the  nation  have  been  hardened  as 
both  Isaiah  and  David  represented,  11:  7-10. 

"What  then  is  the  situation  in  Israel?  The  righteousness  that 
the  mass  of  the  nation  sought  with  such  unintelligent  zeal  they 
did  not  find.  But  the  believing  remnant,  the  product  of  God's 
policy  of  merciful  selection,  has  obtained  it.  The  mass  of  the 
nation  received  the  hard  heart  (7)  just  as  we  read  in  Isaiah: 
'God  gave  them  a  torpid  spirit,  blinded  eyes  and  deafened  ears 
to  this  very  day'  (8).  David  also  speaks  for  God  when  he  said: 
'As  they  sit  in  luxurious  security  at  their  feasts  may  they  sud- 
denly find  themselves  snared  and  trapped,  overthrown  and 
judged,  their  eyes  darkened  into  sightlessness  and  their  backs 
bent  under  their  captors'  burdens.' 

7.  What  then?  The  reference  to  "grace"  and  "works"  in  v.  6 
starts  Paul  again  for  a  moment  on  the  theme  he  discussed  at 
greater  length  in  chs.  9-10.  What  he  said  there,  when  comparing 
believing  Gentiles  with  unbelieving  Jews,  he  can  repeat  here 
about  the  believing  Jewish  remnant  and  the  unbelieving  nation. 
Israel  as  a  nation  in  Paul's  day  has  not  received  the  messianic 
salvation  that  it  sought  so  earnestly  (cf.  10:  1-5).  But  a  small 
number  whom  God  in  mercy  "selected"  have  received  it.  The 
rest  were  hardened.  Presumably  by  God,  as  the  next  verse 
states,  and  as  Paul  asserted  in  9:  i8. 

8.  As  it  is  written.  Loose  quotation  from  Is.  29:  10  and  Deut. 
29:  4,  where  God  is  said  to  have  made  Israel  hard  of  heart  and 

212 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


ii:ii 


9.  And  David  saith,  Let  their  table  be  made  a  snare, 
and  a  trap,  And  a  stumbling  block,  and  a  recom- 
pense unto  them: 
10.  Let  their  eyes  be  darkened,  that  they  may  not  see 
And  bow  thou  down  their  back  alway. 


slow  of  understanding.  These  two  passages  may  have  stood  to- 
gether in  some  collection  of  texts  used  by  Christian  preachers. 

9-10.  David  saith.  Quotation  from  Ps.  69:22-23,  a  Psalm 
containing  terrible  imprecations  upon  the  Psalmist's  enemies, 
whom  Paul  evidently  considers  to  be  the  Jewish  people.  Cf. 
3:  10-18.  Their  time  of  secure  enjoyment  and  feasting  is  to  be 
the  time  of  their  undoing,  when  they  are  trapped,  hunted  down 
and  get  their  deserts.  Ps.  69  seems  to  have  influenced  the  New 
Testament  account  of  the  death  of  Jesus  (cf.  v.  25  with  Acts  i :  20; 
V.  21  with  Matt.  27:34). 

This  language  sounds  more  severe  than  10:2-3.  Perhaps 
Paul  was  thinking  here  of  the  more  vicious  of  his  antagonists, 
those  dealt  with  in  H  Cor.  11:13-15  and  I  Thess.  2:14-16, 
while  in  10:  2-5  he  was  thinking  of  his  kinsmen  and  old  rabbinic 
associates. 

(3)  God's  purpose  in  producing  the  apostacy  of  this  perverse 
generation  was  to  bring  the  message  of  messianic  salvation 
effectively  to  the  Gentiles,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  provoke 
in  the  Jews  a  real  appreciation  of  it.  When  the  Jews  in 
their  turn  also  accept  it  the  world  will  experience  no  less  a 
blessing  than  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  and  the  dawn 
of  the  Messianic  Age,  11: 11-16. 

"Do  I  mean  to  say  that  when  God  caused  the  nation  to  stumble 
he  meant  it  never  to  rise  again?  No  indeed!  Something  very 
different  and  divinely  merciful  God  purposes.  When  they  fell 
away  from  Jesus'  messianic  movement  it  no  longer  seemed  to  the 
Gentiles  to  bear  the  stigma  of  the  Jew,  and  the  Gentile  seized  it 
eagerly.  When  the  Jew  sees  his  glorious  possession  in  the  hands 
of  the  Gentile  he  in  lurn  will  be  seized  with  a  jealous  desire  to 
claim  his  own  (11).  If  the  Jews'  falling  away  into  transgression 
could  bring  a  rich  possession  to  the  whole  Gentile  world,  if  the 
lessening  of  Jewish  advantage  could  bring  richness  of  blessing  to 
all  the  Gentiles,  how  much  more  will  Jewish  fulness  of  advantage 
bring  blessing  to  the  world  (12)?  I  am  writing  to  Gentiles. 
Let  me  tell  you  Gentiles  then  what  the  impelling  motive  behind 

213 


ii:ii 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


II.  I  say  then,  Did  they  stumble  that  they  might  fall? 
God  forbid:  but  by  their  fall  salvation  is  come 
unto  the  Gentiles,  for  to  provoke  them  to  jealousy. 


my  apostolic  mission  to  you  is,  and  tell  you  with  such  frankness 
that  I  shall  never  again  be  suspected  by  you  of  anti-Jewish 
prejudice.  I  am  always  glorifying  my  apostolic  mission  to  you 
(13)  because  I  hope  in  this  way  to  arouse  in  my  kinsmen  jealous 
desire  for  the  Gospel  and  so  to  draw  some  of  them  into  the  mes- 
sianic salvation  that  will  come  so  soon  as  the  Jews  are  ready  (14), 
For  if,  as  I  said,  their  temporary  exclusion  from  the  messianic 
movement  could  result  in  a  reconciliation  of  a  whole  Gentile 
world,  what  will  their  inclusion  in  the  movement  result  in  except 
a  general  resurrection  from  the  dead  and  the  dawning  of  the  New 
Age  (15)?  There  is  every  reason  to  expect  that  the  nation  will 
be  included  in  the  messianic  movement,  for  when  God  accepted 
the  Fathers  he  accepted  the  whole  nation  of  which  the  Fathers  are  a 
part,  just  as  his  acceptance  of  the  'first  loaves'  means  his  ac- 
ceptance of  all  the  mass  of  dough  from  which  these  loaves  were 
taken.  The  Fathers  were  in  God's  sight  a  holy  root  which  com- 
municates its  nature  to  all  the  branches  (16)." 

II.  Did  they  stumble.  Over  the  stumbling  block  (v.  9). 
That  they  might  fall.  Was  God's  purpose  in  causing  them  to 
stumble  simply  to  experience  cold  blooded  delight  in  seeing  them 
fall  and  be  permanently  out  of  the  race?  By  their  fall.  The 
word  translated  fall  means  a  culpable  falling  out  of  the  way  and 
is  generally  translated  "transgression"  (e.g.,  4:  25;  5:15,  16, 
17,  18,  20).  Salvation  is  come  imto  the  Gentiles.  Paul  implies 
that  the  Gentiles  would  never  in  large  numbers  have  accepted 
the  message  of  messianic  salvation  if  it  had  come  to  them  as  a 
thoroughly  Jewish  movement.  Prejudice  against  Jews  was  so 
strong  in  the  Greco-Roman  world  that  no  movement  avowedly 
Jewish  could  ever  hope  to  subdue  the  world.  As  an  apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  Paul  regarded  Jewish  opposition  as  a  distinct  ad- 
vantage. To  provoke  them  to  jealousy.  To  provoke  the  Jews 
to  jealousy.  As  Paul  will  say  in  a  moment,  it  is  inconceivable 
that  God  should  produce  anything  more  than  a  temporary  Jewish 
opposition  to  the  messianic  movement.  He  will  pass  over  some 
generations  in  his  process  of  selection,  but  he  will  never  per- 
manently abandon  the  nation.  When  the  Jews  see  how  great  a 
blessing  the  messianic  movement  in  the  hands  of  the  Gentiles 
is,  they  will  be  provoked  to  desire  their  own  and  will  come  to  it 
eagerly. 

214 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS  lit  IS 

12.  Now  if  their  fall  is  the  riches  of  the  world,  and 
their  loss  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles;  how  much 
more  their  fulness? 

13.  But  I  speak  to  you  that  are  Gentiles.  Inasmuch 
then  as  I  am  an  apostle  of  Gentiles,  I  glorify 
my  ministry: 

14.  if  by  any  means  I  may  provoke  to  jealousy  them 
that  are  my  flesh,  and  may  save  some  of  them. 

15.  For  if  the  casting  away  of  them  is  the  reconciling 


1 2 .  Their  fall  is  the  riches  of  the  world.  Their  falling  away  from 
the  messianic  movement  of  Jesus  has  made  it  acceptable  to 
Gentiles  by  relieving  it  from  the  stigma  of  being  Jewish,  and  so 
has  brought  rich  blessing  to  the  Gentile  world.  How  much  more 
their  fulness.  The  word  translated  "fulness"  might  mean 
"fulfilling,"  that  is,  their  fulfilling  the  will  of  God.  More  prob- 
ably it  means  their  fulness  of  blessing  through  acceptance  of 
the  messianic  message,  and  so  stands  in  contrast  with  their  "less- 
ening" or  "loss." 

13-14.  I  speak  to  you  that  are  Gentiles.  "I  realize  that  I  am 
writing  to  Gentiles."  Therefore  Paul  will  take  advantage  of  this 
fact  and  make  a  startling  statement  that  will  keep  Gentile 
Christians  from  ever  again  making  the  mistake  of  which  he  has 
previously  warned  them,  namely,  the  mistake  of  supposing  that 
he  shares  their  anti- Jewish  prejudice.  A  great  part  of  his  in- 
terest in  his  apostolic  mission  to  the  Gentiles  is  due  to  the  chance 
that  mission  gives  him  to  bring  blessing  to  his  countrymen!  The 
larger  and  more  conspicuous  his  success  among  the  Gentiles,  the 
more  effective  will  he  be  in  arousing  among  his  beloved  country- 
men jealous  interest  in  the  Jesus  messianic  movement.  Save 
some  of  them.  This  may  mean  some  even  of  this  perverse  gen- 
eration, or  it  may  indicate  that  Paul's  expectation  of  salvation 
for  the  nation  did  not  involve  expectation  that  all  Jews  would 
accept  the  Jesus  message,  any  more  than  it  involved  expectation 
that  all  Gentiles  the  world  over  would  do  so.  The  word  "some" 
in  Paul's  use  does  not  necessarily  mean  "a  few"  or  even  "a  large 
minority."  In  I  Cor  9:  22  the  expression  "that  I  might  save 
some"  is  used  to  describe  the  whole  outcome  of  his  apostolic 
work  among  all  classes,  an  outcome  which  he  by  no  means  re- 
garded as  meagre. 

15.  The   casting   away.     Their   present   alienation   from   the 

215 


Ii:i6  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

of  the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  he, 
but  Hfe  from  the  dead? 
i6.  And  if  the  firstfruit  is  holy,  so  is  the  lump:  and  if 
the  root  is  holy,  so  are  the  branches. 

Jesus  messianic  movement.  The  reconciling  of  the  world. 
**A  reconciling  of  a  world,"  a  reconciliation  of  a  whole  Gentile 
world  to  God.  Life  from  the  dead.  When  God  temporarily  set 
the  Jews  one  side  the  result  was  a  great  good,  so  when  he  takes 
them  back,  it  is  argued,  the  result  will  be  life  from  the  dead  which, 
according  to  the  "how  much  more"  of  v.  12,  must  be  a  greater 
good.  What  is  it  that  would  be  a  greater  good  than  the  recon- 
ciliation of  the  Gentile  world?  Possibly  the  restoration  to  divine 
favor  of  God's  ancient  people,  regarded  as  a  blessing  so  incon- 
ceivably great  as  to  be  nothing  less  than  a  change  from  death  to 
life  (Denney).  More  probably  "a  life  from  the  dead"  is  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  which  will  introduce  the  new  Mes- 
sianic Age.  It  is  this  consummation  that  is  the  goal  of  all 
Paul's  thought,  the  redemption  of  the  body  toward  which 
everything  is  looking  with  intense  longing  (8:  18-23).  It  is 
extremely  improbable  that  Paul  would  omit  all  mention  of  this 
in  the  sketch  of  God's  great  world  plan  that  he  is  giving  here. 
Yet  it  is  omitted  unless  it  be  found  at  this  point.  When  Jew  and 
Gentile  stand  together  before  God  in  penitent  faith,  the  Lord  will 
come  from  heaven  to  introduce  the  New  Age  by  a  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  The  Talmud  says  that  the  lack  of  repentance  pre- 
vents the  dawning  of  the  New  Age.  "If  all  Israel  would  repent 
together  for  one  day,  redemption  through  the  Messiah  would  be 
the  result"  (Weber).  That  this  idea  prevailed  in  at  least  certain 
circles  of  early  Christians  is  evident  from  Acts  3:  19-20. 

16.  If  the  first  fruit  is  holy  so  is  the  lump.  The  first  fruit  here 
Is  the  small  portion  of  dough  taken  from  the  whole  mass,  or 
"lump,"  and  offered  to  God  (Num.  15:  17-21).  His  acceptance 
of  it  as  something  holy  shows  that  he  approves  and  accepts  the 
whole.  In  Paul's  application  of  the  figure  the  first  fruits  are 
"the  fathers"  (v.  28),  the  patriarchs  whom  God  accepted.  Paul 
argues  that  in  accepting  them  God  committed  himself  to  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  nation  of  which  they  were  the  beginning.  He  did 
not  of  course  forego  the  right  to  proceed  by  a  process  of  "selec- 
tion" in  the  case  of  particular  generations,  but  he  did  make  it 
evident  that  he  would  never  abandon  the  nation.  Root — 
branches.  The  same  idea  expressed  by  another  figure.  The  root 
represents  the  fathers,  and  the  branches  the  nation  that  sprang 
from  them. 

216 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  Ii:i7 

(4)  Gentile  Christians  must  lay  aside  their  Anti- Jewish  race 
pride,  and  recognize  the  fact  that  the  Jews  have  been  the 
objects  of  God's  special  care  and  are  more  evidently  eligi- 
ble to  messianic  salvation  than  are  Gentiles.  They  will 
soon  be  gathered  with  Gentiles  into  the  experience  of  God's 
messianic  mercies,  11: 17-32. 

"Let  me  use  an  illustration  that  will  show  you  what  the  rela- 
tion of  Gentile  Christians  to  the  Jewish  people  really  is.  I  have 
just  mentioned  the  relation  of  root  to  branches.  Suppose  that  a 
farmer  should  ever  do  so  absurd  a  thing  as  to  break  off  branches 
from  a  tame  olive  tree  in  his  orchard  and  graft  in  wild  olive  cut- 
tings! Now  you  Gentile  Christians  are  just  such  a  wild  olive 
slip  grafted  into  the  Jewish  nation  that  is  like  a  fine  tame  olive. 
You  are  now  sharing  with  the  Jewish  tame  olive  branches  the 
rich  sap  of  the  splendid  Jewish  root  and  stock  (17).  Certainly 
you,  a  little  wild  olive  cutting,  will  not  do  so  absurd  a  thing  as  to 
glory  over  these  tame  branches!  You  will  not  be  so  conceited  as 
to  feel  that  you  are  giving  strength  to  the  root  and  to  forget  that 
it  is  the  root  that  strengthens  you!  (18).  Probably  you  will 
say,  as  I  have  often  heard  men  say  when  I  have  used  this  illus- 
tration: *I  may  be  a  wild  olive  cutting  but  nevertheless  it  has  to 
be  admitted  that  God  valued  me  more  highly  than  he  did  the 
tame  branches,  for  he  broke  them  off  to  make  a  place  for  me  (19)!' 
How  beautifully  you  put  it!  But  not  quite  true  to  the  facts. 
They  were  broken  off  because  they  refused  to  have  faith,  and  you 
are  where  you  are  because  you  did  have  faith.  So  do  not  be 
conceited  but  be  full  of  fear  (20),  for  there  is  much  less  reason 
for  God's  sparing  you  than  for  his  sparing  the  branches  that 
naturally  belonged  where  you  are  (21).  We  have  then  here  a 
case  of  God's  kindness  and  sharpness, — to  the  branches  that  fell, 
sharpness;  but  toward  you  kindness,  if  you  continue  to  be  fit  for 
kindness.  If  you  do  not  you  will  certainly  be  cut  off  (22)!  And 
on  the  other  hand  they,  if  they  do  not  persist  in  their  fatal  lack 
of  faith,  will  certainly  be  grafted  in.  God  could  easily  do  it  (23). 
For  if  so  unnatural  a  thing  as  grafting  you,  a  slip  from  a  wild  olive, 
into  a  tame  olive  could  take  place,  how  much  more  easily  could 
it  happen  that  Jews,  who  are  tame  olive  branches,  should  be 
grafted  back  into  their  own  tree  where  they  naturally  belong 
(24).  I  want  you  to  be  initiated,  my  Brothers,  into  a  wondrous 
secret  that  has  long  lain  in  the  mind  of  God  and  has  now  been 
revealed  to  those  who  have  spiritual  understanding.  When  you 
once  understand  this  secret  you  will  be  kept  from  conceit.  A 
hardening  of  the  heart  has  to  a  certain  extent  befallen  Israel,  and  is 
destined  to  continue  until  the  Gentile  world  shall  yield  its  gener- 
ous quota  to  the  Jesus  messianic  movement  (25).  Then  the 
Jewish  people  as  a  whole  will  join  the  messianic  movement  and 

217 


Ii:i7  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 

17.  But  if  some  of  the  branches  were  broken  off,  and 
thou,  being  a  wild  oUve,  wast  grafted  in  among 
them,  and  didst  become  partaker  with  them  of 
the  root  of  the  fatness  of  the  olive  tree; 


usher  in  the  New  Era  of  Salvation.  This  is  what  is  foretold  in 
the  scripture  that  says:  'There  shall  come  forth  from  Zion  the 
messianic  Deliverer  who  will  turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob 
(26).  This  is  my  solemn  covenant  with  them,  to  be  certainly 
fulfilled  at  the  time  when  I  shall  take  away  their  sins  (27).' 
So  the  situation  is  this:  When  we  look  at  the  way  the  Jesus 
messianic  movement  is  spreading  over  the  earth,  the  Jews  ap- 
pear to  be  enemies,  for  they  have  been  excluded  from  it  in  order 
that  you  might  thereby  reap  the  great  advantage  of  participation 
in  it._  But  when  we  look  at  God's  ancient  policy  of  introducing 
messianic  salvation  by  a  process  of  selection,  we  see  that  the  na- 
tion is  very  dear  to  God,  for  he  selected  the  fathers  and  promised 
them  that  their  descendants  should  have  messianic  salvation  (28). 
This  salvation  the  nation  surely  will  have,  for  the  gift  that  God 
once  bestows,  and  the  summons  that  he  once  issues,  will  never  be 
regretted  and  recalled  (29).  So  just  as  you  Gentiles,  who  used 
to  be  disobedient  to  God,  have  been  providentially  won  to  obe- 
dience and  the  experience  of  God's  mercy  more  effectively  be- 
cause of  their  temporary  disobedience  (30),  so  they  have  been 
put  through  a  course  of  disobedience  like  yours,  not  that  it  should 
become  permanent  but  that  they,  moved  by  the  mercy  they  see 
you  enjoying,  may  themselves  also  seek  and  receive  mercy.  So 
both  Jews  and  Gentiles  shall  finally  have  run  exactly  the  same 
course  (31).  God  shut  them  all  up  in  the  pen  of  the  disobedient, 
not  for  slaughter  in  the  day  of  judgment,  but  that  he  might  with 
wondrous  grace  look  upon  them  all  in  mercy  and  lead  them  out 
into  messianic  glory  (32)." 

17.  Paul  here  takes  up  the  figure  of  root  and  branches  and  uses 
it,  as  he  had  perhaps  often  done,  to  check  the  supercilious  anti- 
Jewish  spirit  of  Gentile  Christians,  The  Gentile  Christians  were 
like  useless  wild  olive  cuttings,  grafted  into  the  tree  in  place  of 
good  tame  olive  branches  that  had  been  broken  off,  a  process 
which  would  seem  wholly  foolish.  The  figure  cannot  be  pressed 
to  details,  to  inquire  for  instance  what  kind  of  fruit  would  be  the 
result  of  such  a  process.  It  is  simply  a  way  of  saying  that  the 
Gentiles,  who  were  inferior  to  the  Jews,  had  nevertheless  been 
made  participators  in  the  superior  privileges  of  the  splendid 
Jewish  stock,  had  been  given  the  undeserved  advantage  of  con- 

218 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  Ii:22 

1 8.  glory  not  over  the  branches:  but  if  thou  gloriest, 
it  is  not  thou  that  bearest  the  root,  but  the  root 
thee. 

19.  Thou  wilt  say  then,  Branches  were  broken  off, 
that  I  might  be  grafted  in. 

20.  Well ;  by  their  unbelief  they  were  broken  off,  and 
thou  standest  by  thy  faith.  Be  not  high  minded, 
but  fear: 

21.  for  if  God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  neither 
will  he  spare  thee. 

22.  Behold  then  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God: 
toward  them  that  fell,  severity;  but  toward  thee, 
God's  goodness,  if  thou  continue  in  his  goodness: 
otherwise  thou  also  shalt  be  cut  off. 


nection  with  all  that  God  had  richly  granted  to  the  "Fathers" 
and  their  descendants  (cf.  9:  1-5). 

18.  Glory  not  over  the  branches.  This  shows  the  point  and 
purpose  of  the  discussion  and  is  repeated  in  vs.  20,  25.  For  the 
Gentile  Christian  to  feel  superior  to  the  Jew,  and  to  feel  that  he 
had  displaced  the  Jew  as  a  recipient  of  the  messianic  favor  of 
God,  was  as  absurd  as  it  would  be  for  a  little  wild  olive  cutting  to 
feel  superior  to  the  great  tame  olive  root  that  was  furnishing  it 
life! 

19-21.  Thou  wilt  say.  Perhaps  Paul,  on  occasions  when  he 
had  used  this  figure  before,  had  heard  Gentile  Christians  reply 
that  although  they  were  wild  olive  cuttings,  God  had  certainly 
broken  off  branches  in  6rder  to  make  place  for  them.  Paul 
says  that  God  had  not  done  exactly  this,  at  least  that  he  had  not 
meant  Gentiles  permanently  to  displace  Jews.  He  had  meant  to 
punish  Jews  for  unbelief  and  to  reward  Gentiles  for  that  belief, 
the  humble  maintenance  of  which  is  their  only  hope  of  holding 
their  place.  Well.  Perhaps  ironical  as  in  Mk.  7:9.  "Beauti- 
fully said!" 

22.  Toward  them  that  fell.  Goes  back  to  the  idea  of  faUing  in 
v.  ii._  Severity.  Sharpness.  Perhaps  Paul  has  a  play  on 
words  in  mind  for  the  Greek  word  suggests  a  "cutting  off,"  such  as 
the  branches  had  experienced. 


J  J.  23  THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

23.  And  they  also,  if  they  continue  not  in  their  un- 
belief, shall  be  grafted  in :  for  God  is  able  to  graft 
them  in  again. 

24.  For  if  thou  wast  cut  out  of  that  which  is  by  nature 
a  wild  olive  tree,  and  wast  grafted  contrary  to 
nature  into  a  good  olive  tree :  how  much  more  shall 
these,  which  are  the  natural  branches,  be  grafted 
into  their  own  olive  tree? 

25.  For  I  would  not,  brethren,  have  you  ignorant  of 
this  mystery,  lest  ye  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits, 
that  a  hardening  in  part  hath  befallen  Israel,  until 
the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in ; 

26.  and  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved :  even  as  it  is  written, 
There  shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  Deliverer;  He 
shall  turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob: 


23-24.  Paul  is  not  concerned  about  the  artistic  details  of  his 
figure.  The  branches  that  were  broken  off  and  thrown  away  to 
make  place  for  wild  olive  cuttings  are  spoken  of  as  if  they  had  not 
withered,  and  could  still  be  used  as  small  cuttings.  The  point 
to  be  made  however  is  perfectly  clear — the  unbelieving  nation 
can  be  reclaimed.  To  restore  religiously  cultured  Jews  would  be 
easier  than  to  make  something  of  raw  Gentiles  as  God  had  done! 

25-27.  Summary  of  the  thought  with  emphasis  of  the  warning 
against  anti-Jewish  pride.  Mystery.  Not  necessarily  anything 
hard  to  understand,  but  a  "secret,"  and  here  a  secret  that  has 
long  lain  concealed  in  the  mind  of  God  (cf.  Col.  i :  26)  but  is  now 
brought  to  light.  It  is  brought  to  light  by  the  logic  of  events 
and  through  the  spiritual  illumination  which  Paul  feels  has  been 
given  him  by  God  to  enable  him  to  see  the  logic  of  events  (cf.  I  Cor. 
7: 40).  In  part.  It  has  not  affected  the  entire  nation  either  past 
or  present  (vs.  1-5),  and  the  future  is  full  of  hope.  Fulness  of  the 
Gentiles.  Either  the  large  majority  of  the  Gentile  population 
of  the  world  or  the  full  measure  of  those  whom  God  plans  to  save. 
Probably  the  former,  for  in  v.  12  the  same  word  designated  a  large 
body  of  Jews  as  contrasted  with  a  small  minority  like  the  "seven 
thousand."  And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved.  That  is,  after- 
ward, provoked  by  the  example  of  the  Gentiles,  all  Israel  shall  be 

220 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  11:31 

27.  And  this  is  my  covenant  unto  them,  When  I  shall 
take  away  their  sins. 

28.  As  touching  the  gospel,  they  are  enemies  for  your 
sake:  but  as  touching  the  election,  they  are  be- 
loved for  the  fathers'  sake. 

29.  For  the  gifts  and  the  calling  of  God  are  without 
repentance. 

30.  For  as  ye  in  time  past  were  disobedient  to  God, 
but  now  have  obtained  mercy  by  their  disobe- 
dience, 

31 .  even  so  have  these  also  now  been  disobedient,  that 
by  the  mercy  shewn  to  you  they  also  may  now 
obtain  mercy. 


saved,  as  in  vs.  11-12.  "All  Israel"  is  sometimes  said  to  desig- 
nate all  true  believers  whether  Jew  or  Gentile,  but  decisively  op- 
posed to  this  interpretation  is  the  fact  that  Gentiles  and  Jews 
are  the  subject  of  the  whole  discussion.  Also  in  the  quotation 
"Jacob"  clearly  designates  the  Jewish  nation,  and  the  words 
"they"  and  "you"  in  vs.  28-30  clearly  contrast  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles. The  quotation  merges  Is.  59:20  and  27:9,  both  of  which 
refer  to  Jacob.  Paul  understands  the  "Deliverer"  to  be  the 
Messiah. 

28.  As  touching  the  gospel.  Looked  at  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  present  extension  of  the  gospel  messianic  movement  they 
are  being  treated  like  God's  enemies,  that  is,  they  seem  to  be 
excluded  from  it.  For  your  sake.  In  order  to  make  it  easy  for 
you  Gentiles  to  identify  yourselves  with  the  gospel.  See  on  v. 
II.  As  touching  the  election.  Looked  at  from  the  standpoint  of 
God's  original  selection  of  the  Jewish  nation  to  be  his  people,  they 
will  soon  accept  messianic  salvation  and  appear  as  his  beloved. 
For  the  fathers'  sake.  So  as  to  secure  for  the  fathers  the  holy 
nation  God  promised  them  their  descendants  should  constitute. 

29.  The  gifts  and  the  calling  of  God.  God  gave  the  fathers 
the  promise  that  their  descendants  should  be  his  people.  He 
called,  or  summoned,  them  and  their  descendants  into  messianic 
glory.  This  promise  and  summons  can  never  fail  of  the  fulfil- 
ment God  led  the  fathers  to  expect. 

30-31.  See  on  V.  11. 


11:32  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

32.  For  God  hath  shut  up  all  unto  disobedience,  that 
he  might  have  mercy  upon  all. 

4.  Everlasting  glory  be  to  God!  God's  plan  for  finally 
bringing  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  so  long  antagonistic, 
mercifully  up  out  of  sin  into  the  righteousness  and 
glory  of  the  Messianic  Age  shows  a  profound  wealth 
of  skill  and  knowledge.  No  one  without  divine 
illumination  could  have  discovered  beforehand  what 
his  decisions  meant  or  could  have  traced  his  paths 
to  their  goal,  11: 33-36. 


32.  God  let  them  all,  Jew  and  Gentile,  become  disobedient  not 
because  he  wanted  to  punish  but  because  he  wanted  to  show 
mercy.  The  desire  to  be  merciful  was  always  dominant.  Mercy 
upon  all.  Evidently  Paul  did  not  mean  upon  all  who  had  ever 
lived,  for  he  had  drawn  the  dark  picture  in  i :  18-32  and  saw  the 
fate  of  the  lost  (Phil.  3: 19).  He  is  talking  about  the  New  Age 
(5:  12-20),  which  will  include  the  Jewish  nation  as  well  as  Gen- 
tiles. He  seems  nowhere  to  consider  the  fate  of  the  multitudes  of 
disobedient  Gentiles  and  Jews  who  had  lived  and  died  in  past 
centuries. 

"What  unlimited  abundance  of  resources,  wise  device  and  un- 
failing insight  has  God  possessed  in  the  long  history  of  mankind 
that  soon  shall  issue  in  the  New  Age!  How  impossible  it  has  been 
for  men  to  search  out  the  reasons  for  his  decrees  and  to  trace  the 
paths  on  which  he  has  moved  forward  to  their  accomplishment 
(33).  Surely  the  scripture  may  say:  'Who  among  men  has  been 
able  to  see  what  lay  in  the  mind  of  God  or  to  counsel  him  about 
his  actions?'  (34).  'Who  has  been  able  to  put  him  under  obliga- 
tion so  as  to  demand  recompense  either  for  counsel  or  for  righteous 
action?'  (35).  All  rest  on  him;  he  rests  on  none  other,  for  all 
things  proceed  from  him  as  source,  through  him  are  maintained 
in  being,  and  in  his  uses  find  the  reason  for  their  being.  Amen 
(36)!" 

Another  outbreak  of  praise  like  those  in  ch.  5  and  8:  31- 
39.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  realize  the  deep  feeling  that  would  rise 
in  the  heart  of  a  Christian  Jew  like  Paul  over  the  problem  that 
the  condition  of  his  nation  presented  and  over  the  satisfactory 
solution  of  the  problem  that  he  had  discovered.     If  the  Anglo- 

222 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  11:36 

33.  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
the  knowledge  of  God!  how  unsearchable  are  his 
judgements,  and  his  ways  past  tracing  out! 

34.  For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord?  or 
who  hath  been  his  counsellor? 

35.  or  who  hath  first  given  to  him,  and  it  shall  be 
recompensed  unto  him  again? 

36.  For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  unto  him,  are 
all  things.     To  him  he  the  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 

Saxon  race  all  over  the  world  should  abandon  Christianity  within 
the  next  few  generations  and  the  African  races  should  adopt  it, 
we  can  imagine  how  a  Christian  member  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race 
would  feel  over  the  situation.  We  can  in  some  measure  imagine 
also  the  profound  joy  that  he  would  experience,  if  he  should  dis- 
cover what  seemed  to  him  a  divine  purpose  running  through 
the  process,  destined  to  issue  speedily  in  a  wonderfu  1  Federation 
of  the  World  under  the  leadership  of  Jesus  Christ! 

33.  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  the 
knowledge  of  God!  Literally  "O  depth  of  riches  and  wisdom 
and  knowledge."  Riches — vast  resources  and  fulness  of  the 
"glory"  of  the  spiritual  world  (cf.  v.  12);  wisdom — skill  and 
prudence  in  the  exercise  of  goodness;  knowledge — the  direct 
perception  of  what  is,  what  ought  to  be  and  what  shall  be.  His 
judgments.  Not  his  "condemnations"  but  his  decrees  or  de- 
cisions, if  the  next  clause  may  be  regarded  as  constituting  a 
parallel.  Paul  is  commenting  on  God's  whole  policy  of  dealing 
with  the  human  race,  which  has  just  been  under  discussion. 

34.  From  Is.  40:  13.  God's  plan  was  too  wise  to  have  been 
devised  by  any  other  than  God  alone,  and  he  needed  no  helper. 

35.  From  the  Hebrew  of  Job  41:11  which  differs  from  the  LXX. 
God  is  indebted  to  no  one  for  his  wisdom  and  knowledge.  Per- 
haps also  a  final  thrust  at  those  who  seek  righteousness  by  works, 
and  who  would  so  put  God  under  obligation  to  them. 


223 


IV.  Directions  for  the  Conduct  of  Those  Who 
IN  THE  Life  of  Faith  Wait  for  the 
New  Age.     Chs.  12-15. 

I.  General  statement:  Though  the  present  evil  age 
has  not  yet  ended  you  must  no  longer  live  its  life. 
Through  the  spiritual  re-enforcement  that  your 
higher  nature  has  experienced  you  must  even  now 
live  the  life  of  the  Spirit  Age  to  come  and  make  pre- 
liminary demonstration  of  the  will  of  God,  12: 1-2. 

12.  I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies 
of  God,  to  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice, 

"Since  God  through  all  the  generations  has  been  mercifully 
preparing  the  race  for  the  glory  of  the  New  Age,  I  beseech  you, 
my  Brothers  who  have  yielded  to  his  mercy  and  have  felt  the 
power  of  the  New  Age,  to  take  the  very  flesh  bodies,  which  once 
made  you  slaves  of  sin  and  which  still  link  you  to  this  present 
evil  age  of  flesh,  and  lay  them  resolutely  on  the  altar  of  God. 
Let  them  be  a  living  sacrifice,  untouched  by  priestly  knife,  purified 
from  all  the  base  uses  they  once  served,  no  longer  a  foul  offense  to 
God  but  well  pleasing  to  him.  This  will  be  the  fitting  form  of 
worship  for  you  to  offer  to  God  in  the  spiritual  world  which  you 
have  begun  to  enter  (i).  Do  not  follow  the  pattern  of  life  that 
prevails  in  this  evil  age,  but  live  as  if  you  had  already  been 
granted  the  glorious  bodies  that  shall  be  yours  in  the  New  Age. 
This  is  now  possible  since  your  higher  nature  has  been  so  re- 
enforced  that  you  are  able  to  make  demonstration  of  the  will  of 
God,  doing  everything  that  is  good,  well-pleasing  to  him,  and  as 
it  shall  be  in  the  perfect  Coming  Age  (2)." 

I.  By  the  mercies  of  God.  The  desire  to  show  mercy  to  all 
has  been  the  motive  that  has  actuated  God  in  all  his  strange  deal- 
ing with  the  human  race  (11:  32),  and  this  mercy  will  soon  in- 
troduce the  salvation  of  the  Messianic  Age.  Therefore  Paul  can 
make  it  the  firm  basis  of  an  intense  appeal.     To  present  your 

224 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   ROMANS 


holy,  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  your  reasonable 
service. 
2.  And  be  not  fashioned  according  to  this  world: 
but  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your 
mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is  the  good  and 
acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God. 

2.  Especially  do  leaders  and  ''gifted"  persons,  as  they 


bodies  a  living  sacrifice.  The  body  used  to  be  the  willing  host  of 
Sin  (6:4,  12;  8:  13),  and  therefore  through  the  body  the  whole 
personality  became  Sin's  slave  (7:  14,  23),  but  now  that  the 
"mind,"  or  higher  nature,  of  the  believer  has  been  "renewed," 
re-enforced  by  help  from  the  spiritual  world,  he  is  able  to  take 
even  the  offending  body  and  lay  it  on  God's  altar  as  a  holy  sacri- 
fice that  God  will  accept.  All  the  "members"  are  placed  at  God's 
disposal  (6:  13).  There  will  be  no  more  stealing  hands  or  ob- 
scene tongues  (Col.  3:5-10).  Paul  here  again  protests  against 
the  ethical  laxness  of  Gentile  Christians  who  consider  themselves 
emancipated  from  the  ethical  standards  of  the  Jewish  law.  The 
body,  therefore,  is  not  regarded  by  Paul  as  inherently  and  ir- 
remediably evil.  Your  reasonable  service.  "Service"  is  a  form  of 
ritual  worship  like  that  of  the  t-emple  (9:4).  The  word  translated 
"reasonable,"  or  "spiritual,"  refers  to  the  reason,  or  mind,  ascon- 
trasted  with  the  body.  The  word  occurs  in  the  Testament  of  Levi 
3:  6,  where  the  archangels  in  one  of  the  heavens  make  propitiation 
to  the  Lord  by  presenting  a  "spiritual  and  bloodless  offering." 

2.  Not  fashioned  according  to  this  world.  Not  following  the 
pattwn  of  life  that  prevails  in  this  present  age  as  contrasted 
with  the  Coming  Age  (Eph.  1:21).  Be  ye  transformed.  Put 
on  already  in  spirit  the  new  "form"  of  being  that  shall  be  yours 
in  the  New  Age.  Cf.  Phil,  3:21.  The  renewing  of  your  mind. 
The  "mind,"  or  higher  nature  (7:  23),  has  been  given  new  vigor 
(cf.  n  Cor.  4:  16)  which  fits  it  for  the  life  of  the  New  Age  (cf. 
Col.  3:  10).  That  ye  may  prove.  The  word  means  to  examine 
or  test  and  then  to  approve  after  examination.  Here  the  ap- 
proval evidently  involves  giving  expression  to  the  will  of  God  in 
personal  conduct,  for  it  is  a  transformation  of  life  that  is  urged. 
The  good — will  of  God.  They  are  to  express  the  will  of  God  by 
doing  that  which  is  good,  well-pleasing  and  all  that  it  ought  to  be. 
The  last  word  "perfect"  refers  to  the  life  of  the  New  Age  (cf. 
I  Cor.  13:  10). 

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THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


wait  for  the  new  age,  need  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of 
sober-minded  humility,  12:  j-8. 
3.  For  I  say,  through  the  grace  that  was  given  me, 
to  every  man  that  is  among  you,  not  to  think  of 

"To  be  more  explicit,  let  me  warn  every  believer  in  your  num- 
ber against  one  great  danger  that  confronts  you  as  you  begin  to 
feel  the  exhilarating  touch  of  the  New  Spirit  Age  upon  your  souls, 
I  mean  the  danger  of  overestimating  your  own  power  and  im- 
portance as  you  compare  yourselves  each  with  his  brother. 
Rather  let  your  estimate  of  yourself  be  determined  solely  by  the 
degree  of  intimacy  with  the  Lord  in  the  life  of  faith  that  God  may 
in  his  wisdom  apportion  to  you  (3).  There  must  be  no  rivalry 
among  us  in  our  exercise  of  the  powers  that  come  to  us  from  the 
spirit  world.  There  is  no  rivalry  among  the  members  of  the 
human  body,  thougl^  each  has  its  own  function  to  perform  (4); 
neither  should  there  be  among  us,  who  in  our  relationship  to 
Christ  constitute  one  body,  of  which  each  individual  believer  is  a 
member  with  a  peculiar  function  of  his  own  to  perform  (5). 
Since  we  have  these  various  functions,  gracious  gifts,  each  a 
peculiar  expression  of  God's  grace  different  from  all  the  others, 
let  us  see  to  it  that  each  exercise  his  gift  with  the  sober-minded 
humility  of  which  I  am  speaking.  If  one  has  received  the  gift 
of  prophecy,  let  him  exercise  it  soberly,  with  no  desire  to  be  con- 
sidIcuous,  but  thinking  gratefully  only  of  the  degree  of  intimacy 
with  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  that  God  may  be  granting  him  as  a 
prophet  (6).  If  the  gift  be  that  of  ministering  to  some  form  of 
common  need  in  the  brotherhood,  let  those  of  us  who  possess 
this  gift  be  sober-minded  in  the  discharge  of  our  duties;  or  if  the 
gift  be  power  to  teach,  let  the  teacher  show  his  sober-mindedness 
in  the  simple,  unaffected  way  in  which  he  teaches  (7);  or  the 
eloquent  exhorter,  in  the  self-forgetfulness  with  which  he  exhorts 
his  brothers;  or  he  that  administers  the  money  which  the  brothers 
share  with  the  needy,  let  him  bestow  the  benefaction  with  no 
sense  of  his  own  importance  but  with  unalloyed  honesty  and 
sympathy.  If  one  be  granted  the  gift  of  supervision,  let  him  not 
magnify  himself  but  do  with  sober  promptness  and  thoroughness 
what  his  Lord  sets  him  to  do.  If  one's  gift  be  that  of  expressing 
the  sympathy  of  the  brothers  to  those  who  sorrow  or  who  return 
in  penitence  from  sin,  let  him  bring  his  comfort  with  a  cheerful 
self-forgetful  humility  (8)." 

3.  Through  the  grace  that  was  given  me.  The  gracious  gift 
of  Gentile  apostleship,  which  is  his  warrant  for  giving  these  in- 
structions (1:5,  15: 15-16.)     To  every  man  that  is  among  you. 

226 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think;  but 
so  to  think  as  to  think  soberly,  according  as  God 
hath  dealt  to  each  man  a  measure  of  faith. 


The  injunction  to  humility  in  vs.  3-5  applies  to  all  believers,  but 
in  vs.  6-8  it  becomes  evident  that  Paul  has  the  leaders  and  the 
"gifted"  especially  in  mind,  while  in  vs.  9-21  he  addresses  all  be- 
lievers regardless  of  office  or  gifts.  Vs.  6-8  do  not  throw  any 
clear  light  on  the  nature  of  the  organization  of  the  whole  body  of 
Christians  in  the  city  or  of  the  local  groups  (16:  5)  into  which  the 
main  body  was  divided.  Some  of  the  persons  mentioned  here,  e.g., 
"the  rulers,"  would  naturally  be  appointed  by  their  fellow  members, 
while  the  "prophets"  would  be  designated  by  God's  Spirit.  Some 
spontaneous  preliminary  activity  (like  that  of  the  Stephanas 
family  in  Corinth,  I  Cor.  16:  15-16)  along  certain  lines  might 
often  lead  to  appointment  by  the  church.  So  to  think  as  to  thmk 
soberly.  In  the  case  of  a  new  religious  movement,  not  yet 
fixed  in  stereotyped  forms  of  expression,  there  was  special  danger 
of  excessive  individualism.  The  sense  that  the  New  Age  was 
near  and  that  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of  the  New 
Age,  was  present  in  the  meetings  of  believers,  directly  inciting 
the  spirits  of  individuals  into  some  form  of  conspicuous  activity, 
tended  to  make  these  individuals  "over-think"  themselves. 
Paul  has  already  recognized  another  manifestation  of  this  same 
tendency  (11 :  18,  20,  25).  According  as  God  hath  dealt  to  each 
man  a  measure  of  faith.  One's  estimate  of  himself  is  not  to  be 
either  an  over-  or  an  under-estimate.  It  is  to  be  determined  by 
the  measure  of  "faith"  that  God  has  "portioned"  out  to  him. 
What  is  this  faith  that  God  deals  out  in  portions?  There  is  a 
"faith"  that  all  Christians  must  have  in  order  to  be  "acquitted" 
and  pass  victoriously  into  the  salvation  of  the  New  Age  (i :  16-17). 
There  is  also  a  faith  which  is  a  special  "gift"  of  God  for  some  be- 
lievers and  not  for  others  (I  Cor.  12:  9),  a  gift  that  seems  to  be 
connected  with  special  power  in  prayer  (I  Cor,  13:  2).  But  here 
"faith"  seems  not  quite  to  be  either  one  of  these.  It  is  something 
that  in  varying  measure  accompanies  a  variety  of  special  "gifts" 
(vs.  6-7).  Perhaps  it  is  the  sense  of  definite  personal  connection 
with,  and  direction  by,  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  may  have  been 
stronger  in  some  than  in  others.  Paul  might  easily  consider 
that  this  was  dealt  out  by  God  in  different  degrees  to  different 
individuals.  This  would  be  a  natural  way  of  explaining  the 
fact  that  a  specific  gift  seemed  to  be  present  with  greater  inten- 
sity in  one  than  in  another.  Paul  for  example  spoke  with 
tongues  more  than  all  of  them  (I  Cor.  14:  18).     Each  man  is  not 

227 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


4.  For  even  as  we  have  many  members  in  one  body, 
and  all  the  members  have  not  the  same  office: 

5.  so  we,  who  are  many,  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and 
severally  members  one  of  another. 

6.  And  having  gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace 
that  was  given  to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us 
prophesy  according  to  the  proportion  of  our  faith ; 

to  be  thinking  complacently  of  himself  or  of  his  gift,  but  simply 
to  be  keenly  and  humbly  appreciative  of  whatever  sense  of  the 
nearness  of  his  Lord  in  the  life  of  faith  God  may  deal  out  to  him. 

4-5.  As  the  human  spirit  animates  the  human  body  and  co- 
ordinates the  activities  of  its  various  members,  so  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  animates  the  church  and  coordinates  the  activities  of 
individuals.  Some  sense  of  competition  and  rivalry  would 
naturally  exist  in  every  church  as  the  members  compared  their 
respective  gifts  (cf.  v.  3).  There  seems  to  have  been  no  special 
outbreak  of  this  spirit  in  Rome.  The  situation  in  Corinth  was 
quite  different  (I  Cor.  12-14).  We  who  are  many  are  one  body 
in  Christ.  The  unity  of  the  body  of  believers  was  due  to  their 
common  relation  to  Christ.  The  Lord  himself  was  present  in  the 
place  of  worship.  They  were  meeting  "in  him"  as  their  spiritual 
environment,  and  his  Spirit,  which  is  identified  with_  him  (8: 
9-10),  breaks  out  in  individuals  who  show  by  their  actions  that 
they  have  received  various  gifts  from  him.  "We"  may  mean 
"we  Christians  in  the  local  meeting."  If  however  it  is  meant  to 
include  all  Christians  everywhere,  then  Paul  conceives  here  of  the 
church  in  the  world  as  the  body  of  Christ,  an  idea  that  comes  to 
full  development  in  Ephesians. 

6.  Gifts.  "Charismata."  Powers  bestowed  as  an  expression 
of  love.  A  list  of  them  is  given  in  I  Cor.  12:  4-1 1  (cf.  Eph. 
4:  8-12.)  Gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace  that  was  given 
to  us.  Each  "gift"  (charisma)  is  due  to  God's  kindness  (charis), 
a  kindness  that  expresses  itself  in  a  variety  of  forms.  Prophecy. 
The  Christian  prophet  was  one  whose  spirit  God  touched  sud- 
denly and  temporarily,  giving  him  a  definite  message  to  "speak 
forth."  Sometimes  in  the  meeting  one  prophet  felt  himself  moved 
to  speak  before  another  had  finished.  In  such  cases  the  first  man 
was  at  once  to  stop,  for  the  reason  that  presumably  God  would 
not  have  stirred  up  a  second,  if  he  were  not  already  through  with 
the  first  (I  Cor.  14:29-33).  The  prophet's  message  wasone 
calculated  to  appeal  to  the  reason  and  conscience  of  a  hearer  (I 
Cor.  14:24-25),  and  naturally  often  included  warning,  threat 

228 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


7.  or  ministry,  let  us  give  ourselves  to  our  ministry; 
or  he  that  teacheth,  to  his  teaching; 

8.  or  he  that  exhorteth,  to  his  exhorting:  he  that 

or  prediction  (cf.  Acts  21:10-11).  Let  us  prophesy  according 
to  the  proportion  of  our  faith.  The  grammatical  structure  is 
obscure  because  so  many  words  are  to  be  supplied.  The  words 
"let  us  prophesy"  have  no  equivalent  in  the  Greek.  Perhaps 
the  more  natural  verb  to  supply  is  "think  soberly,"  brought  for- 
ward from  the  general  injunction  in  v.  3:  "If  one  have  the  gift 
of  prophecy,  let  him  think  soberly  of  himself  according  to  the 
proportion  of  his  faith."  He  is  not  to  be  proud  of  his  gift. 
His  estimate  of  himself  as  a  prophet  is  to  be  determined  by  the 
degree  of  direct  connection  with  Christ  in  the  life  of  faith  that 
God  seems  to  have  granted  him.  Prophets  who  were  conceited 
or  lacked  balance  could  do  a  great  deal  of  harm.  Some  such  had 
brought  the  gift  of  prophecy  into  disrepute  at  one  time  in  Thes- 
salonica  (I  Thess.  5:  19-20).  That  they  sometimes  became  ex- 
cited and  disorderly  and  needed  exhortation  to  self-control  is 
evident  from  I  Cor.  14:32-33. 

7.  Or  ministry.  "If  one  have  the  gift  of  ministry,  let  him  think 
soberly  of  himself  in  the  ministry,"  It  is  difficult  to  tell  what 
is  meant  by  "ministry."  It  was  a  word  which  covered  a  variety 
of  activities:  "There  are  diversities  of  ministrations"  (I  Cor. 
12:  5).  Paul  uses  the  word  to  designate  his  whole  mission  to  the 
Gentile  world  (11:  13;  cf.  II  Cor.  6:3),  and  also  his  delivery  of 
Gentile  money  to  Christian  Jews  in  Jerusalem  (15:31).  It 
describes  the  activity  of  a  whole  family  in  Corinth  (I  Cor.  16:  15), 
who  perhaps  made  their  home  a  hostel  for  traveling  Christians — 
or  for  the  poor  and  sick.  In  Acts  6:  i,  4  it  is  used  both  of 
food  and  the  word.  The  fact  that  here  in  Romans  it  stands 
between  prophesying  and  teaching  might  be  taken  to  indicate 
some  form  of  speech,  but  this  is  of  course  not  a  necessary  inference. 
He  that  teacheth  to  his  teaching.  The  Greek  reads  "in  the  teach- 
ing," that  is,  "He  that  teacheth,  let  him  think  soberly  of  himself 
in  the  teaching."  In  I  Cor.  14:  26  various  people  appear  in  the 
meeting,  each  with  a  "teaching."  Perhaps  the  word  indicates 
the  absence  of  the  sudden  impulse  that  comes  upon  the  prophet. 
If  the  teaching  were  sufficiently  prolonged  it  would  become  a 
lecture. 

8.  Or  he  that  exhorteth.  Like  the  teacher  he  may  have  pos- 
sessed more  permanent  inspiration  than  the  prophet,  but  unlike 
the  teacher  his  subject-matter  would  be  hortatory  rather  than 
explanatory.  An  illustration  of  what  was  considered  written 
exhortation  would  perhaps  be  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (Heb. 

229 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


giveth,  let  him  do  it  with  liberality;  he  that  ruleth, 
with  diligence ;  he  that  sheweth  mercy,  with  cheer- 
fulness. 

13:22;  cf.  also  Acts  4:  36).  He  that  giveth,  let  him  do  it  with 
liberality.  Literally,  "He  that  giveth,  in  simplicity."  Here 
the  grammatical  force  of  the  verb  "to  think  soberly"  seems  to 
have  run  out,  but  its  idea  is  expressed  by  the  qualifying  phrase. 
The  giver  shows  his  humility  and  sober  thought  of  himself  by 
having  singleness,  or  simplicity,  of  purpose  in  his  giving.  He  does 
not  give  in  such  a  way  as  to  exalt,  or  attract  attention  to,  himself. 
He  has  the  simple  compassionate  desire  to  relieve  distress.  Since 
most  of  the  activities  here  described  are  public,  it  seems  natural 
to  regard  "the  giver"  as  one  who  at  least  semi-officially  gives  to 
the  needy  the  sums  collected  for  them.  The  word  implies  a 
sharing,  and  is  therefore  properly  used  of  one  who  gives  something 
of  his  own  to  another.  It  is  not  inconceivable,  however,  that  the 
word  should  be  used  even  of  a  treasurer's  benefactions,  where  the 
warm  personal  relationship  is  emphasized  rather  than  official 
distribution.  If  the  reference  is  to  one  who  disburses  the  money 
of  others,  the  exhortation  to  give  with  "singleness"  or  "sim- 
plicity" might  include  a  warning  against  any  duplicity  or  dis- 
honesty in  handling  the  church's  money.  He  that  ruleth.  The 
word  may  mean  "to  stand  befoi-e,"  that  is,  as  leader  or  super- 
intendent; or  "to  stand  for,"  that  is,  as  protector  (cf.  16:2)  or 
host  (Hort).  The  use  of  the  word  in  I  Thess.  5:  12-13  makes  it 
probable  that  superintendence  is  its  meaning.  There  the  per- 
sons designated  by  the  word  are  charged  with  the  responsibility 
of  admonition,  and  are  to  be  treated  with  respect.  In  I.  Tim.  3 :  4, 
5,  12  the  word  is  used  of  the  father  who  "ruleth  well  his  own 
house."  Such  persons  were  responsible  for  remonstrating  with 
disorderly  members,  caring  for  the  tempted  and  discouraged 
(I  Thess.  5:  14).  They  may  also  have  had  some  responsibility  for 
the  order  of  worship  in  the  public  meeting.  With  diligence. 
Literally  "in  haste"  or  "earnestness."  They  were  to  show  their 
sober-mindedness  by  the  speed,  promptness,  decisiveness  with 
which  they  dealt  with  the  disorderly  or  hurried  to  the  side  of  the 
tempted  and  discouraged.  He  that  showeth  mercy.  The  fact 
that  this  designation  occurs  in  a  list  of  those  who,  with  one  other 
possible  exception,  perform  public  functions,  makes  it  probable 
that  the  one  who  shows  mercy  had  some  special  responsibility 
for  visiting  those  in  sorrow  and  sickness,  perhaps  also  for  re- 
claiming offending  members,  or  that  he  was  a  leader  one  of  whose 
various  responsibilities  was  to  receive  penitent  backsliders.  The 
experience  of  a  modern  missionary  shows  how  many  such  cases 

230 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


3.  Love  in  its  various  manifestations  must  characterize  the 
life  of  all  the  brothers,  12:  Q-21. 
9.  Let  love  be  without  hypocrisy.     Abhor  that  which 
is  evil;  cleave  to  that  which  is  good. 

there  would  naturally  be.  With  cheerfulness.  The  kindness 
is  to  bring  good  cheer  to  the  sorrowing.  There  is  to  be  no  slow, 
grudging  forgiveness.  The  penitents  are  to  be  welcomed  back 
with  prompt  enthusiasm. 

"Let  your  love  be  absolutely  sincere.  Loathe  the  ugliness  of 
evil;  grasp  the  good  with  a  grip  that  never  relaxes  (9).  Let 
your  brother-love  have  the  tenderness  of  family  affection;  be 
glad  to  lead  a  brother  forward  into  any  place  of  honor  which  you 
might  desire  for  yourself  (10),  but  be  quick  to  find  some  work  for 
yourself  and  do  it  with  your  might.  Kindle  with  enthusiasm 
over  every  good  cause,  but  without  being  domineering — remem- 
ber that  you  are  the  Lord's  bond-slave  (11).  Let  your  heart  be 
always  filled  with  the  glad,  uplifting  hope  of  the  New  Age;  keep 
steady  in  trouble;  pray  right  on  through  it  all  (12).  Do  not 
confine  your  activity  to  prayer,  but  be  ready  to  help  a  brother 
with  money  in  his  time  of  need;  always  be  glad  to  receive  a  guest 
into  your  home  (13).  Let  no  malicious  treatment  that  you  ex- 
perience stop  the  steady  outflow  of  good-will  from  your  heart. 
There  must  be  no  ill-will  in  your  heart  nor  word  of  cursing  on 
your  lips  (14).  Be  alert  in  your  sympathies;  put  yourself  in- 
stantly in  the  other  man's  place,  exult  in  his  successes  and  grieve 
over  his  misfortunes  (15).  Be  glad  to  find  it  possible  to  agree 
with  other  men.  Do  not  be  looking  for  public  recognition,  but 
be  ready  to  cast  your  Ipt  in  with  the  obscure.  Do  not  be  too 
confident  of  your  own  infallibility,  but  have  a  mind  hospitable 
to  the  suggestions  of  others  (16).  Never  meet  ill-will  with  ill-will. 
Do  not  be  disregardful  of  the  good  opinion  of  others;  take  pains 
to  seem  honest  as  well  as  to  be  honest  (17).  Seek  no  quarrel 
with  any;  if  strained  relations  arise,  do  not  let  the  fault  be  yours 
(18).  Do  not  try  to  punish  any  man;  leave  that  to  God ;  the  scrip- 
ture clearly  represents  that  to  be  his  prerogative  (19).  Instead, 
overwhelm  your  enerny  with  unostentatious  kindness;  quietly  give 
him  food  and  drink  in  his  time  of  need,  and,  as  the  scripture  says, 
your  kindness  will  be  like  coals  of  fire  on  his  head,  setting  his  face 
aflame  with  shame  over  his  mistreatment  of  you  (20).  Do  not 
weakly  allow  another  man's  ill-will  to  destroy  your  good- will,  but 
by  your  invincible  good-will  subdue  his  ill-will  (21)." 

9.  There  is  of  course  no  sharp  break  between  vs.  8  and  9.     The 
injunctions  in  vs.  6-8  have,  with  two  possible  exceptions,  referred 

231 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


10.  In  love  of  the  brethren  be  tenderly  affectioned  one 
to  another;  in  honour  preferring  one  another; 

1 1 .  in  diligence  not  slothful ;  fervent  in  spirit ;  serving 
the  Lord; 

12.  rejoicing  in  hope;  patient  in  tribulation;  contin- 
uing steadfastly  in  prayer; 

to  certain  classes,  while  these  in  vs.  9-21  refer  to  all.  In  a  series 
of  verbless  phrases  Paul  with  a  few  bold  strokes  makes  his  pen 
picture  of  the  disciple  of  Jesus  waiting  for  the  dawning  of  the 
New  Age.  Let  love  be  without  hypocrisy.  There  is  no  verb 
in  the  Greek:  "Love  unfeigned."  Love  is  the  basal  virtue. 
AH  that  follows  is  an  explication  of  love.  In  this  respect  the 
paragraph  9-21  is  like  I  Cor.  13  which  also  follows  a  discussion  of 
*'gifts"  (I  Cor.  12)  like  that  in  vs.  3-8  here.  Since  love,  or  in- 
vincible good-will,  is  basal  in  character,  the  prime  requisite  is  that 
it  shall  be  absolutely  genuine.  Abhor  that  which  is  evil.  Here 
and  in  the  next  clause  the  Greek  uses  simply  a  participle — 
"abhorring,"  "cleaving."  In  the  life  of  love  moral  reactions 
must  be  quick  and  strong.  The  evil  must  seem  so  ugly  as  to  be 
repugnant,  and  the  good  so  beautiful  that  one  will  be  "glued" 
to  it.     There  will  be  no  playing  with  temptation. 

10.  Tenderly  affectioned.  A  word  that  expresses  the  warm 
love  of  members  of  a  family  for  each  other.  The  believers  con- 
stitute a  family.  The  church  is  to  be  famous  in  the  community 
for  the  warm  affection  that  its  members  feel  for  each  other.  In 
honor  preferring  one  another.  The  "brothers"  love  each  other  so 
much  that  it  would  give  each  the  most  profound  satisfaction  to 
see  the  other  receive  an  honor,  even  an  honor  to  which  both  might 
naturally  have  aspired. 

11.  In  diligence  not  slothful.  Readiness  to  see  another 
honored  instead  of  one's  self  is  not  to  degenerate  into  sluggish 
apathy.  If  one  lets  his  brother  take  the  coveted  opportunity, 
he  must  be  quick  to  find  another  for  himself!  Fervent  in  spirit. 
"In  spirit  boiling."  Spirit  is  probably  not  "spirit"  as  con- 
trasted with  "flesh,"  but  rather  the  part  of  a  man  that  thinks 
and  decides.  The  phrase  describes  the  wholesome  enthusiasm 
that  the  spirit  of  a  man  experiences  when  a  good  cause  is  pre- 
sented to  him.  Serving  the  Lord.  The  boiling  enthusiasm  does 
not  become  crass  extravagance.  Its  possessor  never  forgets  that 
he  is  a  bond-servant  of  the  Lord.  Instead  of  "the  Lord"  some 
MSS.  read  "the  time,"  or  "opportunity." 

12.  Rejoicing  in  hope.  In  hope  of  the  New  Age  that  the  Lord 
whom  he  serves  will  introduce  at  his  coming  (cf.  5:2),  and  in 

232 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  I2:i6 

13.  communicating  to  the  necessities  of  the  saints; 
given  to  hospitaUty. 

14.  Bless  them  that  persecute  you ;  bless,  and  curse  not. 

15.  Rejoice  with  them  that  rejoice;  weep  with  them 
that  weep. 

16.  Be  of  the  same  mind  one  toward  another.     Set 

the  prospect  of  everlasting  fellowship  with  his  Lord  (I  Thess. 
4:17).  Patient  in  tribulation.  The  great  hope  with  which  he 
looks  toward  the  future  enables  him  to  endure  present  adversity 
without  becoming  irritable,  nervous  or  sour.  The  same  com- 
bination appears  in  I  Cor.  13:7.  Continuing  steadfastly  in 
prayer.  The  source  of  his  joy  and  patience  is  God  on  whom  he 
steadfastly  fixes  his  mind  in  prayer.  When  the  immediate  object 
of  his  effort  relaxes  its  hold  upon  his  attention,  his  mind  instinc- 
tively reverts  to  God.  He  continually  thinks  of  his  work  in  its 
connection  with  God. 

13.  Communicating  to  the  necessities  of  the  saints.  He  does 
not  confine  his  activity  to  praying!  In  love  he  so  identifies  him- 
self with  others  that  their  needs  become  his,  and^  he  uses  his  re- 
sources to  meet  their  needs  as  he  does  to  meet  his  own.  Given 
to  hospitality.  In  this  way  he  meets  a  particular  class  of  "necessi- 
ties." He  shares  his  home,  especially  with  traveling  Christians 
who  particularly  need  to  be  guarded  against  the  fierce  tempta- 
tions and  dangers  that  beset  travelers  in  public  inns.  Especially 
in  Rome  would  there  be  many  opportunities  to  entertain  Chris- 
tians who  had  occasion  to  visit  the  capital.  Hospitality  will  not 
seem  burdensome  to  him.     He  "pursues"  it,  runs  eagerly  after  it. 

14.  Bless  them  that  persecute  you.  To  "bless"  is  to  express  in 
some  way  one's  desire  that  all  be  well  with  another.  The  word 
translated  "persecute"  is  the  word  translated  "pursuing,"  or 
"given  to,"  in  the  clause  preceding.  Perhaps  the  one  use  of  the 
word  suggested  the  other.  The  one  who  pursues  another  to  do 
him  evil  is  never  to  be  met  with  a  curse.  His  evil  intent  is  not  to  be 
ignored  or  apathetically  endured  (cf.  Lk.  17:3),  but  to  be  met 
with  an  expression  of  invincible  good-will. 

15.  A  concrete  description  of  the  quick,  well  disciplined  sym- 
pathies possessed  by  the  man  of  the  loving  heart.  He  instinc- 
tively puts  himself  in  the  other  man's  place  and  feels  as  the  other 
man  does,  even  when  the  other  man's  success  is  superior  to  his 
own! 

16.  Be  of  the  same  mind.  A  more  general  description  of  the 
frame  of  mind  mentioned  in  the  last  sentence.     There  is  to  be 

233 


12: 17  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

not  your  mind  on  high  things,  but  condescend  to 
things  that  are  lowly.  Be  not  wise  in  your  own 
conceits. 

17.  Render  to  no  man  evil  for  evil.  Take  thought  for 
things  honorable  in  the  sight  of  all  men. 

18.  If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  in  you  lieth,  be  at  peace 
with  all  men. 

19.  Avenge  not  yourselves,  beloved,  but  give  place 
unto  wrath:  for  it  is  written,  Vengeance  be- 
longeth  unto  me ;  I  will  recompense,  saith  the  Lord. 


the  largest  possible  degree  of  agreement  in  the  consideration  of 
mutual  interests.  The  danger  to  be  avoided  in  this  connection 
appears  in  the  following  clauses — the  desire  for  pre-eminence 
and  an  over-confidence  in  the  correctness  of  one's  own  opinions. 
Cf.  Prov.  3:7  which  may  have  been  in  Paul's  mind,  especially 
since  Proverbs  is  again  suggested  in  v.  17  and  clearly  quoted  in 
V.  20.  This  injunction  as  well  as  v.  3  is  to  be  compared  with  11 : 
18,  20,  25. 

17.  Render  to  no  man  evil  for  evil.  Seems  to  be  a  repetition 
of  v.  14,  but  a  broader  statement  and  one  that  perhaps  by  some 
association  of  ideas  came  into  Paul's  mind  in  connection  with  v. 
16.  The  danger  mentioned  in  v.  16  might  easily  lead  to  this. 
Take  thought  for  things  honorable.  Apparently  a  reminiscence 
of  Prov.  3:4.  Confidence  in  one's  own  opinions  (v.  16)  might 
lead  to  an  unwarrantable  indifference  to  the  good  opinion  of 
others.  The  Christian  love  which  is  the  theme  of  all  this  para- 
graph will  necessarily  value  the  esteem  of  others.  It  is  desirable 
to  seem  to  be  honest  as  well  as  to  be  honest.  Paul's  application 
of  this  truth  to  a  situation  in  his  own  life  appears  in  II  Cor.  8:  20. 

18.  Paul's  remembrance  of  the  situation  in  II  Cor.  8:  20  recalls 
the  whole  Corinthian  controversy  recently  terminated,  in  which 
he  had  found  it  impossible  to  be  at  peace  with  certain  men  (cf. 
II  Cor.  10-13).  This  leads  him  to  say  "if  it  be  possible"  and 
"as  much  as  in  you  lieth." 

19.  Avenge  not  yoiu-selves  beloved.  The  keen  sense  of  having 
suffered  wrong,  that  appears  here,  seems  also  to  be  a  product  of 
this  recent  controversy.  Paul  was  ready  to  refrain  from  in- 
flicting any  punishment  on  his  enemies,  and  to  leave  them  in  God's 
hands.     The  quotation  seems  to  be  a  reminiscence  of  Deut.  32 :  35. 

234 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


20.  But  if  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him;  if  he  thirst, 
give  him  to  drink :  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt  heap 
coals  of  fire  upon  his  head. 

21.  Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with 
good. 

4.  The  brotherhood  must  obey  the  government  officials, 

13: 1-7' 
13.  Let  every  soul  be  in  subjection  to  the  higher 

20.  From  Prov.  25:  21-22.  If  an  enemy  be  overwhelmed  with 
kindness,  his  face  will  be  set  aflame  with  the  blush  of  shame  over 
his  misconduct. 

21.  The  pen  picture  of  the  disciple,  of  the  man  with  the  loving 
heart,  ends  with  the  stroke  that  presents  a  victor. 

"Let  every  person  obey  the  civil  authorities.  All  power  that 
preserves  order,  as  the  civil  authorities  do,  comes  from  God.  God 
therefore  is  behind  the  civil  authorities  (i).  Therefore  anyone 
who  resists  them,  resists  something  that  God  has  established,  and 
will  have  to  reckon  with  God  in  the  judgment  day  so  near  at 
hand  (2).  Do  I  hear  you  say  that  we  ought  not  to  fear  anyone 
but  God?  You  will  have  no  occasion  to  fear  the  civil  authorities 
if  you  do  what  is  right.  ^  Do  what  is  right  and  you  will  find  them 
praising  you  (3),  which  is  the  agreeable  function  God  means  them 
to  exercise.  But  if  you  resist  them,  then  you  will  feel  the  edge 
of  the  sword  the  official  wears  and  will  realize  that  his  sword  is 
more  than  a  piece  of  personal  adornment !  It  will  really  be  God's 
wrath  that  you  will  experience,  for  it  is  really  God  who  has  ap- 
pointed him  to  punish  evil  doers  (4).  Therefore  obedience  to 
civil  authorities  is  something  that  you  ought  to  render  because  of 
conscientious  conviction  that  God  would  have  you  do  so,  and  not 
simply  because  you  wish  to  avoid  being  punished  by  them  (5). 
This  same  principle  applies  to  the  payment  of  your  taxes.  God 
has  appointed  officials  to  collect  the  taxes  that  are  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  government  and  social  order  (6).  So  do  not 
fail  to  render  to  each  official  that  which  it  is  his  special  function 
to  receive — whether  it  be  taxes,  customs,  the  fear  due  to  the 
emperor,  or  the  honor  due  to  lesser  officials  (7)." 

I.  Be  in  subjection  to  the  higher  powers.  It  was  easy  for  a 
certain  type  of  mind  to  argue  that,  since  Jesus  and  his  messianic 
kingdom  would  soon  displace  all  the  institutions  of  the  present 
evil  age,  the  civil  government  had  no  legitimate  authority.    The 

235 


13:1 


13:2  THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 

powers :  for  there  is  no  power  but  of  God ;  and  the 
powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God. 

2.  Therefore  he  that  resisteth  the  power,  withstand- 
eth  the  ordinance  of  God:  and  they  that  with- 
stand shall  receive  to  themselves  judgement. 

3.  For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  the  good  work,  but 
to  the  evil.  And  wouldest  thou  have  no  fear  of 
the  power?  do  that  which  is  good,  and  thou  shalt 
have  praise  from  the  same: 

4.  for  he  is  a  minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good.    But 

fact  that  the  civil  authorities  were  often  connected  officially  with 
pagan  worship  would  contribute  to  this  feeHng.  The  feeling 
might  express  itself  in  open  disregard  of  government  regulations 
or  in  secret  tax  dodging  (vs.  6-7).  Ordained  of  God.  Paul 
felt  strongly  that  God  was  back  of  all  good  order  (cf.  I  Cor.  14:33). 
Furthermore,  he  knew  that  the  social  order  maintained  by  the 
government  contributed  to  the  successful  propagation  of  the 
Christian  movement,  and  was  therefore  of  God.  He  had  re- 
peatedly been  protected  by  government  officials  in  his  missionary 
activity.  In  the  very  city  in  which  he  was  writing  this  letter  the 
pro-consul  had  saved  him  from  disaster  (Acts  18:  12-16;  cf. 
Acts  19:  31,  35-38).  He  might  have  felt  differently  at  a  later 
time,  when  the  government  began  to  persecute  the  Christians  and 
to  enforce  emperor  worship  (cf.  Rev.  17:4  ff).  Especially  in 
Rome  it  was  important  that  Christians  should  not  incur  the  ill- 
will  of  the  government,  for  prejudice  against  them  in  the  capital 
city  might  easily  be  communicated  to  officials  in  all  parts  of  the 
empire.  It  is  perhaps  significant  that  Clement,  the  Bishop  of 
Rome,  writing  forty  years  later  to  the  Christians  in  Corinth,  also 
emphasizes  the  importance  of  obeying  "our  rulers  and  governors 
upon  the  earth"  (chs.  60-61). 

2.  Receive  to  themselves  judgment.  Not  simply  the  penalty 
infficted  by  the  civil  authorities,  but  penalty  in  God's  judgment 
day, 

3.  Rulers  are  not  a  terror.  The  word  translated  "terror"  is 
the  ordinary  word  for  fear.  Paul  imagines  his  readers  arguing 
that  they  ought  not  to  fear  anyone  but  God.  They  will  not  have 
occasion  to  do  so,  if  they  behave  themselves! 

4.  Beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain.  That  is,  not  as  a  mere  per- 
sonal ornament. 

236 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  13:8 


if  thou  do  that  which  is  evil,  be  afraid;  for  he 
beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain :  for  he  is  a  minister 
of  God,  an  avenger  for  wrath  to  him  that  doeth 
evil. 

5.  Wherefore  ye  must  needs  be  in  subjection,  not 
only  because  of  the  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience 
sake. 

6.  For  for  this  cause  ye  pay  tribute  also ;  for  they  are 
ministers  of  God's  service,  attending  continually 
upon  this  very  thing. 

7.  Render  to  all  their  dues:  tribute  to  whom  tribute 
is  due;  custom  to  whom  custom;  fear  to  whom 
fear;  honour  to  whom  honour. 

5.  The  Brotherhood  must  not  look  to  the  speedy  coming 
of  the  New  Age  as  a  means  of  evading  the  payment  of 
private  debts,  for  this  would  he  inconsistent  with  that 
neighbor  love  which  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  law  and 

5.  Not  only  because  of  the  wrath  but  also  for  conscience*  sake. 

Not  only  to  avoid  the  penalty,  but  from  conscientious  conviction 
that  obedience  to  God  involves  obedience  to  law. 

7.  Tribute.  Direct  taxes.  Custom.  Indirect  taxes.  Fear. 
Perhaps  the  feeling  with  which  the  emperor  ought  to  be  regarded. 

"Not  only  must  you  be  conscientious  in  meeting  your  obliga- 
tions to  government  officials,  but  you  must  also  leave  no  private 
debt  unpaid,  for  to  do  this  would  be  to  repudiate  the  great  debt 
that  we  are  always  gladly  paying  and  never  discharging, — the 
debt  of  neighbor  love.  It  is  the  continuous  paying  of  this  debt 
that  keeps  the  law  and  so  prepares  for  judgment  and  the  New- 
Age  (8).  For  all  the  commandments, — Thou  shalt  not  commit 
adultery,  thou  shalt  not  kill,  thou  shalt  not  steal,  thou  shalt  not 
covet,  and  any  other  such — are  summed  up,  as  the  Lord  said,  in 
the  great  commandment.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self (9).  Love  would  never  do  any  harm  to  a  neighbor,  and  since 
the  object  of  the  law  is  to  keep  men  from  being  harmed,  loving 
one's  neighbor  is  the  fulfilling  of  law  (10).  I  urge  upon  you  such 
keeping  of  the  spirit  of  the  law,  for  we  know  the  critical  juncture 

237 


13:8        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

the  necessary  preparation  for  the  judgment  day, 
13-'  S-I4' 

8.  Owe  no  man  anything,  save  to  love  one  another: 
for  he  that  loveth  his  neighbour  hath  fulfilled  the 
law. 

9.  For  this,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou 
shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not 
covet,  and  if  there  be  any  other  commandment,  it 
is  summed  up  in  this  word,  namely.  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

10.  Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour:  love  there- 
fore is  the  fulfilment  of  the  law. 

in  which  we  are  living.  It  is  a  time  to  arouse  ourselves  from 
lethargy,  for  the  dawning  of  the  New  Age  with  Jesus  Christ's 
messianic  salvation  is  nearer  than  it  was  when  we  first  entered 
into  faith-fellowship  with  him  (11).  The  long  night  of  this  age  of 
sin  and  darkness  is  far  advanced ;  the  Coming  Age  of  righteousness 
and  light  is  very  near.  Let  us  lay  aside  forevermore  all  the 
works  of  this  dark  age,  and  take  to  ourselves  the  equipment  need- 
ful for  life  and  work  in  the  New  Age  of  light  (12).  While  still 
in  this  dark  borderland  let  us  walk  as  if  the  day  had  dawned. 
Take  no  part  in  drunken  revelings,  in  obscene  sexual  indulgence. 
Be  no  party  to  any  jealous  rivalry  (13).  Assume  that  you  even 
now  possess  the  glorious  spiritual  body  which  we  shall  share  with 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  no  further  provision  for  gratify- 
ing the  lusts  of  our  present  flesh  body  (14)." 

8.  Owe  no  man  anything.  This  injunction  to  pay  private 
debts  springs  naturally  out  of  the  injunction  to  pay  taxes  and 
customs  charges  (v.  7).  He  that  loveth  his  neighbor  hath  ful- 
filled the  law.  Paul  very  probably  knew  Jesus'  use  of  Lev. 
19:  18  (cf.  Mark  12:28-34).  In  accordance  with  this  principle 
Paul  disregarded  many  detailed  commandments  found  in  the 
law,  since  by  so  doing  he  could  the  better  obey  the  spirit  of  the 
law  (cf.  I  Cor.  9:  19-22).  Faith  in  Christ  did  not  take  the  place 
of  keeping  the  law.  On  the  contrary  it  gave  power  to  keep  the 
very  spirit  of  the  law. 

10.  Worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor.  This  is  the  negative  state- 
ment of  the  principle.  To  fail  to  pay  a  just  debt  to  a  neighbor 
would  be  working  ill  to  him. 

238 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  13:14 

11.  And  this,  knowing  the  season,  that  now  it  is  high 
time  for  you  to  awake  out  of  sleep:  for  now  is 
salvation  nearer  to  us  than  when  we  first  be- 
lieved. 

12.  The  night  is  far  spent,  and  the  day  is  at  hand:  let 
us  therefore  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,  and  let 
us  put  on  the  armour  of  light. 

13.  Let  us  walk  honestly,  as  in  the  day ;  not  in  revelling 
and  drunkenness,  not  in  chambering  and  wanton- 
ness, not  in  strife  and  jealousy. 

14.  But  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make 
not  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts 
thereof. 


11.  And  this.  I  say  this  about  fulfilling  the  law  because  the 
judgment  day  is  near,  and  such  fulfillment  of  law  is  the  necessary 
preparation  for  it.  Salvation  nearer.  The  dawning  of  the  New 
Age,  which  brings  "the  salvation,"  is  nearer  now  than  it  was  when 
we  first  gave  our  lives  in  faith  to  the  Lord  of  the  New  Age. 

12.  The  night  is  far  spent.  This  age  and  this  world  are  dark- 
ness, under  the  control  of  "the  world  rulers  of  this  darkness" 
(Eph.  6:  12).  The  Coming  Age  will  begin  when  the  Lord  with 
light  from  the  heavens  above  breaks  victoriously  in  upon  this 
darkness.  This  time  is  now  close  at  hand.  Let  us  therefore 
cast  off  the  works  of  darkness.  Those  who  are  living  in  faith- 
fellowship  with  the  Lord  have  already  practically  entered  into 
the  New  Age  of  light,  and  must  live  accordingly.  The  armor. 
The  word  means  either  "weapons"  (cf.  John  18:3),  in  which 
case  the  figure  is  that  of  a  soldier  rising  in  the  darkness  of  the 
early  mxorning  to  put  on  his  armor,  or  "tools"  (cf.  Rom.  6:  13), 
in  which  case  the  figure  is  that  of  a  workman  going  out  to  his 
day's  work.  The  latter  meaning  is  suggested  by  the  word 
"works"  in  the  preceding  clause.  Strife  and  jealousy.  Paul's 
thought  has  already  turned  to  the  subject  that  will  be  introduced 
in  14: I. 

14.  Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  evidently  equiva- 
lent to  making  no  "provision  for  the  flesh."  It  seems  to  mean 
putting  on  the  new  form  of  body  like  in  kind  to  that  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  will  speedily  in  the  New  Age  displace  the  present 

239 


i4:i 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


6.  Brothers  who  conscientiously  abstain  from  all  use  of 
meat  and  wine,  although  unjustified  in  their  as- 
ceticism, are  to  be  received  into  the  brotherhood  and 
treated  with  consideration,  a  consideration  that  they 
in  turn  must  show  toward  those  who  do  not  share 
their  ascetic  viewpoint,  14: 1-2 j. 


body  (Phil.  3:21).  They  are  to  act  as  if  they  already  had  it. 
The  Greek  word  translated  "put  on,"  or  "be  clothed,"  appears  in 
connections  similar  to  the  present  one  in  Gal.  3:27;  Col.  3:  10; 
Eph.  4:24;  I  Cor.  15:53;  II  Cor.  5:3.^  The  word  was  perhaps 
suggestive  to  Paul's  readers  because  of  its  use  in  the  current  reli- 
gious phraseology  of  the  mystery  religions.  (Cf.  Clemen, 
Primitive  Christianity,  p.  232.)  Make  no  provision  for  the 
flesh.  That  is,  make  no  provision  for  developing  the  selfish 
instinct,  for  selfish,  flesh  men  will  be  eliminated  from  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  New  Age. 

"Admit  to  the  Brotherhood  any  man  who  has  faith  in  Jesus 
as  Lord,  even  though  his  sense  of  the  Christian's  liberty  to  en- 
joy all  good  things  be  not  yet  strongly  developed.  But  when 
you  have  admitted  him,  do  not  begin  a  censorious  criticism  of 
his  defective  opinions  (i).  One  man's  faith  in  Jesus  as  Lord 
is  such  as  to  enable  him  to  eat  all  kinds  of  food  without  injury  to 
his  conscience;  another  with  a  less  adequately  developed  moral 
sense  feels  that  he  must  be  a  vegetarian  (2).  The  man  who  eats 
freely  of  all  kinds  of  food  must  not  sneer  at  the  vegetarian; 
neither  must  the  vegetarian  condemn  as  a  sinner  the  one  who 
eats  meat.  God  has  accepted  both,  for  both  are  men  of  faith  (3). 
Each  must  recognize  the  other  as  a  servant  of  God  and  therefore 
as  one  who  will  stand  or  fall  in  the  judgment  day  as  God,  who 
alone  is  his  Master,  shall  determine.  God  will  surely  make  him, 
as  a  man  of  faith,  stand  against  all  attack,  for  God's  power  is 
pledged  to  such  (4).  Men  differ  too  in  their  views  regarding  the 
sacredness  of  days.  To  one  man  it  seems  that  certain  days  ought 
to  be  distinguished  as  days  for  fasting  or  for  the  observance  of 
the  Lord's  supper.  To  another  man  one  day  seems  as  appro- 
priate as  another  for  such  uses.  Let  each  man  feel  perfectly  sure 
that  no  other  man  can  call  him  to  account  for  the  opinion  that 
he  holds  regarding  any  matter  of  days  or  diet  (5).  Men  of 
diverse  views  on  such  points  are  all  alike  in  their  common  pur- 
pose to  please  God  (6).  It  is  our  relation  to  God  that  is  of  su- 
preme importance  in  life  and  death  (7).     If  we  live,  it  is  as  the 

240 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  14:1 


Lord  Christ's  bond-servants;  if  we  die,  we  still  belong  to  him  (8). 
Christ  died  so  that  in  the  realms  of  the  dead  as  well  as  in  the 
realms  of  the  living  his  empire  might  be  established  (9).  So  since 
we  are  all  to  stand  before  God's  great  judgment  seat,  as  the 
scripture  assures  us,  why  should  any  one  of  us  look  upon  his 
brother  with  sneers  or  condemnation?  (lo-ii).  Each  of  us 
will  have  enough  to  do  in  preparing  to  give  account  of  himself 
to  God  (12).  Let  us  not  therefore  exercise  the  critical  faculty 
upon  each  other  any  longer.  Let  us  rather  look  critically  to  see 
that  we  never  do  anything  that  blocks  a  brother's  way  into  the 
life  of  the  Coming  Age  (13).  Before  going  further  let  me  say 
that  I  personally,  as  one  who  lives  in  fellowship  with  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  am  fully  convinced  that  no  moral  defilement 
comes  from  eating  any  kind  of  food.  There  is  moral  defilement 
only  when  the  person  who  eats  feels  that  in  eating  he  is  doing  what 
he  ought  not  to  do  (14).  I  said  that  he  who  cari  eat  meat  without 
protest  of  his  conscience  ought  to  look  out  that  in  so  doing  he  does 
not  block  his  brother's  way  into  the  coming  kingdom  of  God. 
For  it  would  certainly  be  inconsistent  with  the  love  that  is  the 
essence  of  the  life  of  faith,  to  let  a  vegetarian  brother  be  so  em- 
bittered by  your  meat-eating  as  to  destroy  the  character  that 
Christ  died  to  produce!  (15).  Do  not  let  your  liberty  to  eat  all 
kinds  of  food,  which  is  certainly  a  good  thing,  come  into  disrepute 
as  the  cause  of  a  brother's  ruin  (16).  You  can  limit  your  liberty 
without  the  slightest  detriment  to  your  hope  of  the  coming  king- 
dom. The  kingdom  will  not  consist  in  eating  and  drinking,  but  in 
the  righteousness,  joy  and  peace  which  we  have  already  begun  to 
experience  through  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  our  hearts, 
and  to  the  development  of  which  in  others  you  will  contribute  by 
limiting  your  liberty  on  occasion  (17).  If  in  this  way  you  serve 
Christ's  purpose  to  save  men  for  his  kingdom,  you  are  sure  to  be 
well  pleasing  to  God  and  to  be  approved  by  all  good  men  (18). 
So  then  let  us  all  set  our  hearts  on  doing  everything  to  secure 
peace  and  the  development  of  each  other's  character  (19). 
Do  not,  just  for  the  sake  of  eating  a  little  meat,  pull  down  some- 
thing that  God  himself  is  building  up.  Do  not  misunderstand 
me.  I  repeat  what  I  said  a  moment  ago.  No  kind  of  food  has 
power  to  produce  moral  defilement.  To  eat  it  produces  moral 
defilement  only  when  one  eats  it  feeling  that  he  ought  not  to  do 
so,  and  so  finds  his  way  into  the  kingdom  blocked  (20).  It  is 
good  not  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  do  anything  else  which 
would  block  a  brother's  way  into  the  coming  kingdom  (21). 
Rejoice  secretly  before  God  in  the  strong  clear  faith  and  the  en- 
lightened conscience  that  enable  you  to  eat  all  foods,  and  re- 
member also  that  he  is  indeed  a  happy  man  who  before  God  need 
not  condemn  himself  as  one  who  destroyed  his  brother's  faith  by  pur- 

241 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


14.  But  him  that  is  weak  in  faith  receive  ye,  yet  not  to 
doubtful  disputations. 

2.  One  man  hath  faith  to  eat  all  things:  but  he  that 
is  weak  eateth  herbs. 

3.  Let  not  him  that  eateth  set  at  nought  him  that 
eateth  not;  and  let  not  him  that  eateth  not  judge 
him  that  eateth:  for  God  hath  received  him. 


suing  those  courses  of  conduct  that  his  own  enlightened  conscience 
approved  (22).  A  final  warning  to  my  scrupulous  brother: 
By  no  means  eat  meat  if  you  still  doubt  whether  it  would  be 
right  for  you  to  do  so.  In  that  case  you  would  show  yourself 
willing  to  run  the  risk  of  displeasing  Christ,  and  this  would  be  in- 
consistent with  that  faith  in  Christ  the  very  essence  of  which  is 
the  purpose  to  obey  him.  Any  act  which  does  not  spring  from 
the  great  purpose  to  obey  him  comes  from  some  source  not  yet 
subjected  to  him,  and  is  therefore  sin  (23)." 

1.  Weak  in  faith.  See  on  12:  3.  He  has  taken  Jesus  in  faith 
as  his  Lord,  but  he  lacks  a  clear,  correct  realization  of  what  it  is 
right,  and  what  it  is  not  right,  for  one  in  this  relationship  to  do. 
Not  for  decision  of  scruples.  Better,  "not  for  censorious  criti- 
cism of  his  opinions." 

2.  A  situation  had  arisen  among  the  Christians  at  Rome,  which 
had  doubtless  arisen  in  other  places.  A  little  later  it  appears 
distinctly  in  the  environment  of  the  Colossian  church  (Col.  2:  16, 
20-22),  though  there  in  connection  with  other  very  objectionable 
features  that  do  not  appear  here.  A  certain  circle  on  religious 
grounds  were  vegetarians.  Paul  calls  them  "the  weak."  They 
do  not  seem  to  be  afraid  that  they  might  inadvertently  eat  meat 
that  had  been  consecrated  to  a  pagan  deity,  as  in  I  Cor.  8, 10,  for 
in  that  case  Paul  would  deal  with  the  matter  as  he  does  in  I  Cor. 
io:25fT.  They  are  rather  representatives  of  a  general  ascetic 
tendency  of  the  times,  which  for  instance  is  attributed  by  Philo- 
stratus  to  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  who  lived  for  a  time  in  Rome  in  the 
first  century.  Apollonius  says  that  Pythagoras  "suflFered  not  his 
belly  to  be  polluted  by  partaking  of  the  flesh  of  animals"  (Philo- 
stratus,  Lije  of  A  pollonius  6:11,  Conybeare) .  These  persons  had 
probably  been  vegetarians  before  they  became  Christians,  and  now 
applied  for  admission  (v.  i)_to  the  Christian  brotherhood,  bring- 
ing their  unpopular  vegetarian  prejudices  with  them. 

3.  Set  at  nought.  The  man  who  eats  all  kinds  of  food  rather 
scornfully  regards  the  vegetarian's  scruples  as  foolish.     Judge 

242 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  14; 

4.  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  the  servant  of  another? 
to  his  own  lord  he  standeth  or  falleth.  Yea,  he 
shall  be  made  to  stand;  for  the  Lord  hath  power 
to  make  him  stand. 

5.  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another:  an- 
other esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let  each  man  be 
fully  assured  in  his  own  mind. 

6.  He  that  regardeth  the  day,  regardeth  it  unto  the 
Lord:  and  he  that  eateth,  eateth  unto  the  Lord, 
for  he  giveth  God  thanks;  and  he  that  eateth  not, 
unto  the  Lord  he  eateth  not,  and  giveth  God 
thanks. 

him  that  eateth.  On  the  other  hand  the  vegetarian  feels  sure 
that  the  meat-eating  Christian  is  doing  positive  wrong.  Paul 
asserts  that  God  has  accepted  both  men,  for  both  have  faith,  that 
is,  look  to  Jesus  as  Lord. 

4.  When  either  party  attempts  to  judge  the  other  he  is  as- 
suming God's  prerogative.  Furthermore,  in  each  case  he  is  at- 
tempting to  overthrow  a  man  whom  God  proposes  to  make 
to  stand. 

5.  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another.  Perhaps  an 
entirely  distinct  point  of  controversy,  though  possibly  connected 
with  the  general  idea  of  eating,  if  the  day  was  "esteemed"  by 
fasting  or  feasting  on  it.  There  is  the  same  combination  in  Col. 
2:  16.  The  case  is  not  one  in  which  persons  differ  as  to  which 
of  two  possible  days  shall  be  observed,  but  as  to  whether  any 
special  day  must  be  set  apart  for  the  purposes  in  question.  These 
"days"  may  be  days  mentioned  in  the  Jewish  scriptures  ("a 
new  moon  or  a  sabbath"  Col.  2:  16),  but  this  would  not  indicate 
that  those  arguing  for  such  observance  were  Jews,  because  the 
Jewish  scriptures  were  the  treasured  possession  of  Gentile  Chris- 
tians, Any  observance  of  Jewish  days  in  Rome  was  of  course 
not  part  of  a  movement  back  to  Judaism,  for  in  that  case  Paul 
would  have  vigorously  opposed  it  as  he  did  when  he  was  dealing 
with  Jewish  propagandists  in  Galatia  (Gal.  4:8-11).  Let  each 
man  be  fully  assured  in  his  own  mind.  Fully  assured  that  his 
relation  to  his  Lord  is  not  imperiled  by  his  attitude  on  the  ques- 
tion of  food  or  days, — provided  only  that  his  great  purpose  is  to 
please  his  Lord. 

243 


14:7 


THE   EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


7.  For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  none  dieth 
to  himself. 

8.  For  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord;  or 
whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord:  whether 
we  live  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's. 

9.  For  to  this  end  Christ  died,  and  lived  again,  that 
he  might  be  Lord  of  both  the  dead  and  the  living. 

10.  But  thou,  why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother?  or 
thou  again,  why  dost  thou  set  at  nought  thy 
brother?  for  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  God. 

11.  For  it  is  written,  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  to  me 
every  knee  shall  bow.  And  every  tongue  shall  con- 
fess to  God. 

12.  So  then  each  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  him- 
self to  God. 

13.  Let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another  any  more: 
but  judge  ye  this  rather,  that  no  man  put  a  stumb- 

7.  The  thought  of  accountability  to  God  alone  (v.  6)  brings 
life  and  death  and  the  judgment  day  before  Paul.  In  vs.  7-12 
he  so  portrays  these  great  and  inspiring  realities  as  to  make  all 
acrimonious  controversy  over  days  and  diet  seem  trivial  and 
wicked. 

9.  That  he  might  be  Lord  of  both  the  dead  and  the  living.  This 
rests  upon  the  idea  that  there  are  various  "worlds."  Jesus 
came  from  the  heavenly  "world"  into  this  "world,"  and  after 
death  entered  into  the  "world"  of  the  dead.  He  conquered  and 
became  Lord  of  every  world  into  which  he  entered. 

13.  In  the  first  clause  Paul  closes  the  argument  against  acri- 
monious criticism  of  each  other.  In  the  second  clause  he  takes 
up  a  new  point.  It  is  not  sufficient  merely  to  refrain  from  criticiz- 
ing a  brother  on  these  points.  One  must  do  whatever  he  can 
positively  to  help  his  brother  on  in  the  life  of  faith.  The  words 
from  here  on  through  v.  22  are  addressed  to  the  strong  in  the 
faith,  that  is,  to  those  who  feel  under  no  obligation  to  God  to 
become  vegetarians.     They  must  see  to  it  that  their  conduct  does 

244 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


ling  block  in  his  brother's  way,  or  an  occasion  of 
falling. 

14.  I  know,  and  am  persuaded  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  that 
nothing  is  unclean  of  itself :  save  that  to  him  who 
accounteth  anything  to  be  unclean,  to  him  it  is 
unclean. 

15.  For  if  because  of  meat  thy  brother  is  grieved,  thou 
walkest  no  longer  in  love.  Destroy  not  with  thy 
meat  him  for  whom  Christ  died. 

16.  Let  not  then  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of: 

17.  for  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  eating  and  drinking, 


not  prove  ruinous  to  the  Christian  faith  of  their  vegetarian 
brothers.  This  might  happen  conceivably  in  one  of  two  ways. 
Some  of  the  vegetarians  might  become  so  bitter  ("grieved"  v. 
15)  over  what  seemed  to  them  the  sin  of  their  meat-eating 
brothers  as  to  destroy  their  own  "righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Spirit"  (v.  17).  More  often  they  might  be  led  by  the 
example  of  the  strong  to  become  meat-eaters,  while  still  really 
thinking  that  they  ought  to  remain  vegetarians  (vs.  20,  23). 

14.  Persuaded  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  conviction  had  come  to 
Paul  in  his  faith-fellowship  with  the  Lord  Jesus  after  having  sub- 
mitted the  matter  to  the  Lord  in  prayer.  Or  perhaps  he  had  ac- 
quaintance with  some  saying  of  Jesus  like  that  recorded  in  Mark 
7:  15,  18,  19.  Paul  here  takes  his  place  with  the  strong.  Meat 
does  not  have  power  to  defile  the  man  who  eats  it.  But  the  man 
who,  wrongly  supposing  it  to  be  defiling,  nevertheless  eats  it, 
suffers  moral  defilement  because  he  does  what  he  thinks  he  ought 
not  to  do. 

15.  For.  Introduces  the  reason  for  the  injunction  in  v.  13; 
the  thought  of  v.  14  is  parenthetical.  Destroy  not  with  thy  meat. 
It  is  assumed  that  the  weak  brother  may  become  bitter  or  be 
shocked  out  of  his  Christian  faith  by  seeing  his  strong  brother 
eat  meat.  If  so,  the  strong  brother  would  be  ruining  what  Christ 
even  died  to  save  from  ruin.     This  must  not  be. 

16.  Your  good  be  evil  spoken  of.  The  eating  of  meat  is  a 
thoroughly  good  thing  in  itself,  but  the  act  gets  sadly  into  dis- 
repute if  it  contributes  to  another  man's  moral  ruin. 

17.  A  man  can  forego  the  eating  of  meat  without  in  the  least 
degree  diminishing  his  part  in  the  coming  kingdom  of  God,  of 

245 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


but  righteousness  and  peace  and   joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

1 8.  For  he  that  herein  serveth  Christ  is  well-pleasing 
to  God,  and  approved  of  men. 

19.  So  then,  let  us  follow  after  things  which  make  for 
peace,  and  things  whereby  we  may  edify  one 
another. 

20.  Overthrow  not  for  meat's  sake  the  work  of  God. 
All  things  indeed  are  clean;  howbeit  it  is  evil  for 
that  man  who  eateth  with  offence. 

CI.  It  is  good  not  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor 
to  do  anything  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth. 

22.  The  faith  which  thou  hast,  have  thou  to  thyself 
before  God.  Happy  is  he  that  judgeth  not  him- 
self in  that  which  he  approveth. 


which  the  peace-bringing  presence  of  the  Spirit  in  his  soul  already 
constitutes  the  beginning. 

18.  Herein  serveth  Christ.  The  man  who  by  ceasing  to  eat 
meat  preserves  the  faith  of  a  brother  for  whom  Christ  died,  is  of 
course  "serving  Christ."  He  is  helping  to  accomplish  what 
Christ  died  to  secure. 

20.  The  point  is  so  important  and  so  easily  overlooked  that 
Paul  repeats  again  what  was  said  in  vs.  14-15. 

21.  Nor  to  drink  wine.  Probably  most  of  the  vegetarians 
were  also  teetotalers.  So  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  who  thought  that 
wine,  although  a  "clean  drink,"  "endangered  the  mental  balance 
and  system  and  darkened  as  with  mud  the  ether  which  is  in  the 
soul"  (Philostratus,  Life  of  Apollonius  i:  8,  Conybeare).  Stum- 
bleth. Gives  up  his  faith  in  Christ,  and  so  is  "destroyed,"  or 
"lost"  (v.  15).  Paul  is  not  arguing  that  one  must  never  do  any- 
thing that  displeases  another. 

22.  The  faith — ^have  thou  to  thyself.  Take  a  secret  satisfac- 
tion in  your  ability  to  see  that  meat-eating  is  harmless,  and  thank 
God  for  your  enlightened  conscience.  Happy  is  he.  The  man  of 
liberty  is  a  happy  man,  if  he  can  stand  before  God  without  being 
condemned  as  the  destroyer  of  a  brother  by  the  course  of  conduct 
which  his  enlightened  conscience  approves. 

246 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


23.  But  he  that  doubteth  is  condemned  if  he  eat, 
because  he  eateth  not  of  faith;  and  whatsoever  is 
not  of  faith  is  sin. 

7.  In  general  the  strong  must  always  receive  and 
help  the  weak.  This  Christ  did  when  he  bore 
our  reproaches,  and  especially  when  as  a  strong 
Jewish  Christ  he  brought  help  also  to  you  Gen- 
tiles, is:  I-I3' 


23.  He  that  doubteth  is  condemned.  A  strong  word  of  warn- 
ing to  the  vegetarian.  He  must  not  begin  to  eat  meat  while 
still  doubting  whether  it  is  right  to  do  so,  for  he  would  be  show- 
ing himself  willing  to  run  the  risk  of  doing  something  that  his 
Lord  would  not  approve,  and  this  would  be  inconsistent  with  that 
faith  in  his  Lord  the  very  essence  of  which  is  delight  in  obeying 
him.  Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin.  Anything  which  does 
not  spring  from  a  desire  to  obey  the  Lord,  must  be  sin,  must 
spring  from  some  department  of  life  that  has  not  been  brought 
into  glad  subjection  to  his  will. 

"It  is  a  general  principle,  running  through  all  Christian  living, 
that  in  the  great  Brotherhood  we  who  are  strong  ought  to  use  our 
strength  in  bearing  the  weaknesses  of  those  who  are  not  strong, 
rather  than  to  go  independently  on  pleasing  ourselves  (i).  Let 
each  one  please  his  neighbor,  with  reference  to  building  up  his 
character  and  so  fitting  him  for  the  great  good  that  awaits  us 
in  the  coming  Kingdom  (2).  In  this  way  we  shall  be  true  to  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  who  certainly  did  not  please  himself,  but,  as  it 
stands  written  in  scripture,  even  went  so  far  as  to  take  on  himself 
reproaches  that  should  have  fallen  on  the  sinner  (3).  All  the 
statements  made  in  scripture  were,  like  this  one,  written  for  our 
instruction,  so  that,  comforted  by  them  in  patient  endurance  of  all 
burdens  that  our  solicitude  for  the  weak  may  lay  upon  us,  we  shall 
go  forward  hoping  confidently  for  the  blessedness  of  the  coming 
kingdom  (4).  May  the  God,  who  enables  us  to  endure  patiently 
and  who  constantly  comforts  us,  grant  that  you  all  have  the  same 
mind,  being  brought  into  accord  with  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of 
Christ,  who  bore  the  burdens  of  the  weak,  as  I  have  just  said  (5). 
Then  you  will  with  one  accord  praise  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  (6).  So  receive  each  other  as  Christ,  to  the 
glorifying  of  God,  received  you  Gentiles  (7).     I  may  rightly  say 

247 


15:1 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


15.  Now  we  that  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmi- 
ties of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves. 

2.  Let  each  one  of  us  please  his  neighbour  for  that 
which  is  good,  unto  edifying. 

3.  For  Christ  also  pleased  not  himself;  but,  as  it  is 
written,  The  reproaches  of  them  that  reproached 
thee  fell  upon  me. 

that  Christ  in  allshis  reception  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  glorified  God, 
for,  in  being  made  a  self-sacrificing  Jewish  minister  to  the  Jews, 
he  glorified  God  by  vindicating  the  truthfulness  of  God  who  had 
promised  the  Jewish  fathers  a  Messiah  (8) ;  and  when  he,  a  strong 
Jewish  Christ,  turned  to  you  weak  Gentiles,  he  glorified  God  by 
setting  you  all  to  praising  God  for  his  mercy.  This  too  was  writ- 
ten in  the  scriptures  for  our  comfort  and  hope,  as  I  said  above. 
The  Psalmist  makes  the  Christ  say:  *I  will  give  praise  unto  thee 
among  the  Gentiles  and  will  sing  unto  thy  name'  (9).  And  again 
the  Christ  is  made  to  say:  'Rejoice  ye  Gentiles  together  with  God's 
own  people'  (10).  And  again:  'Praise  the  Lord  all  ye  Gentiles 
and  let  all  the  peoples  praise  him'  (11).  And  again,  Isaiah  says: 
'There  shall  be  the  root  of  Jesse  who  will  rise  up  to  rule  over  Gen- 
tiles also  as  well  as  Jews.  On  him  shall  the  Gentiles  hope'  (12). 
Now  may  the  God,  who  has  in  Christ  brought  hope  to  the  Gentiles, 
fill  you  Gentile  Christians  in  Rome  with  all  joy  and  peace  as  you 
have  faith  in  the  Lord  Christ,  and  make  you  abound  in  hope  of 
the  coming  kingdom  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  who 
gives  us  our  foretaste  of  its  life  (13)." 

1.  The  discussion  of  the  case  of  the  vegetarians  and  the  meat- 
eaters  ends  in  14:  23.  In  some  texts  the  doxology  of  16:  25-27 
appears  at  the  end  of  ch.  14.  (See  Introduction,  p.  62).  In  15:  i 
the  general  relation  of  strong  to  weak  is  taken  up  and  the 
thought  gradually  comes  back  to  the  great  theme,  so  much  on 
Paul's  mind  at  this  time,  namely,  the  relation  of  the  Jewish  nation 
to  Christianity  now  so  largely  in  Gentile  hands.  This  theme  runs 
through  the  whole  of  ch.  15  and  colors  all  references  to  Paul's 
personal  plans. 

2.  Unto  edifying.  Unto  the  building  up  of  his  Christian  char- 
acter. The  vital  interests  of  the  weak  brother  take  precedence 
over  the  mere  pleasure  and  personal  convenience  of  the  strong 
brother. 

3.  As  it  is  written.  The  quotation  is  from  Ps.  69:9  (LXX 
68:  10),  where  the  words  are  addressed  to  Jehovah.  The  writer 
says  that  the  reproaches  of  those  that  reproach  Jehovah  have 

248 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS 


4.  For  whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime 
were  written  for  our  learning,  that  through  pa- 
tience and  through  comfort  of  the  scriptures  we 
might  have  hope. 

5.  Now  the  God  of  patience  and  of  comfort  grant  you 
to  be  of  the  same  mind  one  with  another  according 
to  Christ  Jesus : 

6.  that  with  one  accord  ye  may  with  one  mouth  glor- 
ify the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

7.  Wherefore  receive  ye  one  another,  even  as  Christ 
also  received  you,  to  the  glory  of  God. 

fallen  upon  him.  This  would  of  course  not  then  be  a  case  in 
which  the  strong  helped  the  weak,  but  simply  a  case  where  one 
did  not  please  himself.  The  Psalm  is  one  which  was  supposed  to 
portray  the  sufferings  of  Christ  (Ps.  69:  21,  Mt.  27: 34).  It  may 
be  that  Paul  did  not  regard  the  immediate  context  in  the  Psalm, 
but  used  the  quotation  with  the  general  thought  that  Christ  bore 
the  reproaches  that  would  properly  have  fallen  upon  sinners. 

4.  Written  for  our  learning.  A  j  ustification  of  Paul's  use  of  the 
quotation  just  preceding,  and  a  statement  of  his  conception  of  the 
purpose  of  scripture.  Scripture  was  written  in  order  that  sub- 
sequent generations  might  have  hope — that  is,  hope  of  salvation 
in  the  Messianic  Age.  The  scriptures  will  comfort  them  by  hold- 
ing up  this  hope  and  so  will  help  them  to  endure  with  "patience" 
such  privations  as  the  strong  experience  when  they  bear  the  bur- 
dens of  the  weak. 

5.  According  to  Christ  Jesus.  As  they  accord  with  the  self- 
sacrificing  example  of  Christ  Jesus  they  will  "be  of  the  same 
mind"  and  "with  one  mouth"  praise  God.  There  will  be  realized 
among  the  Roman  Christians  that  same  unity  of  spirit  which 
Paul  expects  to  see  on  the  large  scale  of  the  world,  when  the  Jewish 
nation  accepts  Christ  and  unites  with  Gentile  Christians  in  look- 
ing for  the  Lord's  coming,  which  will  then  occur  (11:25-36). 

7.  Wherefore  receive  ye  one  another.  This  is  the  language  of 
14:  I,  now  applied  to  all  relations  between  any  strong  and  any 
weak,  and  not  specially  to  the  relation  between  meat-eaters  and 
vegetarians.  As  Christ  also  received  you.  If  we  read  "you" 
here  rather  than  "us,"  the  "you"  refers  to  Gentiles,  in  which  case 
Jesus  is  regarded  in  the  next  verse  as  a  strong  Jewish  Christ  re- 
ceiving weak  Gentiles.     The  strong  among  them  must  receive 

249 


15:7 


15:8  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

8.  For  I  say  that  Christ  hath  been  made  a  minister  of 
the  circumcision  for  the  truth  of  God,  that  he 
might  confirm  the  promises  given  unto  the  fathers, 

9.  and  that  the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God  for  his 
mercy;  as  it  is  written,  Therefore  will  I  give 
praise  unto  thee  among  the  Gentiles,  And  sing  unto 
thy  name. 

10.  And  again  he  saith,  Rejoice,  ye  Gentiles,  with  his 
people. 

11.  And  again,  Praise  the  Lord  all  ye  Gentiles ;  And  let 
all  the  peoples  praise  him. 

12.  And  again,  Isaiah  saith,  There  shall  be  the  root  of 
Jesse,  And  he  that  ariseth  to  rule  over  the  Gen- 
tiles; On  him  shall  the  Gentiles  hope. 

the  weak  because  they,  who  as  Gentiles  have  all  been  weak,  have 
all  been  received  by  the  strong  Jewish  Christ.  It  is  entirely^  in 
accord  with  Paul's  general  viewpoint  to  regard  the  Jewish  nation 
as  strong  and  the  Gentiles  as  weak.  The  Jewish  nation  has  been 
the  strong  root  of  the  tame  olive  tree  and  the  Gentiles  have  been 
the  less  important,  grafted  wild  olive  branches  (i  i :  17-18,  21,  24). 
To  the  glory  of  God.  Christ's  receiving  Gentiles  reveals  the  lov- 
ing kindness  of  God  (v. 9),  and  so  makes  God  seem  glorious  in  the 
eyes  of  men. 

8.  For.  The  connective  introduces  two  statements  (vs.  8,  9) 
showing  how  Christ  in  two  particulars  has  contributed  "to  the 
glory  of  God."  First,  as  "a  minister"  (one  who  did  not  "please 
himself")  "of  circumcision,"  that  is,  "a  circumcised  minister,"  or 
a  minister  to  the  circumcised  and  so  of  course  himself  circumcised. 
Christ  did  something  "in  behalf  of  the  truth  of  God,"  namely,  as  a 
Jewish  Messiah  he  confirmed  the  truthfulness  of  God  by  fulfilling 
God's  promise  to  the  Jewish  fathers  that  there  should  be  a  Mes- 
siah of  their  own  race  (cf.  9:4-5). 

9.^  In  the  second  place  he  contributed  "to  the  glory  of  God"  by 
coming  as  a  strong  Jewish  Messiah  to  weak  Gentiles,  a  revelation 
of  God's  mercy  that  made  them  "glorify  God."  Then  follow  four 
quotations  predicting  the  promise  of  God's  mercy  to  Gentiles, 
two  of  them  (vs.  10,  12)  emphasizing  the  fact  that  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles rejoice  together  over  God's  mercy. 

250 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  i5:i4 

13.  Now  the  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and 
peace  in  believing,  that  ye  may  abound  in  hope, 
in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

8.  The  fact  that  you  are  Gentile  Christians  justifies  a 
letter  from  one  who  has  been  greatly  blessed  by  God 
as  pioneer  apostle  to  Gentiles  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  who  now  wishes  to  enlist  your  interest  in 
the  conciliatory  gift  which  he  is  bearing  to  the  Jew- 
ish Christians  in  Jerusalem  from  their  Gentile 
brothers  in  the  west,  and  also  in  plans  for  a  Spanish 
mission  which  he  will  soon  lay  before  you  in  person, 
15'  14-33- 


13.  The  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy.  This  catches  up  the 
last  clause  of  v.  12.  May  the  promise  that  the  Gentiles  shall 
hope  in  the  Christ  be  fulfilled  abundantly  in  the  case  of  the  Gen- 
tile Christians  to  whom  Paul  is  writing. 

"Be  assured,  Brothers,  that  I  myself,  even  though  I  have  writ- 
ten to  you  at  such  length,  and  with  something  of  admonition,  am 
entirely  convinced  that  you  are  full  of  goodness  and  knowledge, 
well  able  to  admonish  yourselves  (14).  If  I  have  written  here 
and  there  somewhat  more  boldly  than  my  confidence  in  you 
would  seem  to  necessitate,  it  has  been  because  I  knew  that  I  was 
not  criticizing  you,  but  was  simply  calling  familiar  ideas  to  your 
remembrance,  and  also  because  in  a  sense  you  as  a  Gentile  church 
belong  to  me.  God  has  graciously  honored  me  with  the  responsi- 
bility (15)  of  being  a  priestly  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  to  all  Gen- 
tiles, a  priestly  minister  in  the  service  of  the  Gospel  of  God, 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  presenting  the  Gentiles  of  the 
empire,  yourselves  included,  as  an  offering  made  acceptable  to 
God  by  the  purifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their  lives  (16). 
You  see,  therefore,  that  I  have  good  reason  to  glory  in  the  oppor- 
tunity to  take  part  in  God's  great  enterprise  that  has  come  to  me 
through  my  connection  with  Jesus  Christ  (17).  I  should  not  dare 
to  speak  with  exultation  of  any  achievements  except  those  which 
Christ's  power  has  wrought  out  through  me,  as  I  have  gone  from 
place  to  place  everywhere  winning  Gentiles  to  the  life  of  obedient 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.    His  power  has  operated  in  me  through 

251 


15:14  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

speech  and  deed  (18).  It  has  been  evident  In  my  iDower  to  per- 
form wonderful  cures  and  other  marvelous  works,  in  my  power 
to  give  expression  to  the  divine  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  With 
the  amplitude  of  Christ's  power  I  have  given  full  expression  to  the 
gospel  message,  all  the  way  from  Jerusalem  and  the  regions  in  that 
part  of  the  world  to  Illyricum  on  the  sea  that  washes  the  shores  of 
your  own  Italy  (19).  In  all  these  journeys  I  have  been  a  pioneer, 
as  my  apostolic  commission  requires  me  to  be,  going  where  no 
other  has  been  before  me,  ambitious  to  lay  foundations  and  not 
to  build  on  those  laid  by  other  men  (I  have  recently  known  those 
whose  ambition  led  them  to  adopt  a  very  different  policy!)  (20).  In 
doing  this  I  have  been  fulfilling  the  prediction  of  scripture  that 
those  who  had  never  received  tidings  of  Christ  should  see  him,  and 
that  those  who  had  never  heard  should  understand  (21).  The 
unexpected  emergencies  that  are  constantly  arising  in  such  a  life 
have  over  and  over  again  defeated  my  plan  to  visit  you  (22). 
But  now  that  centres  of  Gentile  evangelization  have  been  well 
established  in  this  part  of  the  world,  an  opportunity  to  gratify 
my  long  time  desire  to  see  you  is  clearly  afforded  me  (23)  by  my 
prospective  journey  to  Spain.  I  shall  see  you  on  my  way,  and 
shall  rely  on  you  to  set  me  forward  on  my  journey  sure  of  your 
prayerful  interest  and  cooperation,  after  I  shall  have  satisfied  in 
some  degree  my  long  desire  to  see  you  (24).  There  is  one  thing 
to  be  done  first.  I  am  just  now  starting  for  Jerusalem  to  perform 
a  service  for  the  Brothers  there  (25).  The  Brothers  in  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia  have  taken  great  satisfaction  in  gathering  a 
fund  to  be  shared  with  the  large  number  of  poor  among  the 
Jerusalem  Brothers  (26).  I  say  that  they  have  taken  great  satis- 
faction in  doing  this,  and  well  they  may,  for  they  owe  much  to 
Jerusalem.  God  has  opened  up  to  the  Gentiles  the  spiritual 
riches  of  the  Jewish  messianic  hope,  and  it  is  only  right  that  Gen- 
tiles should  share  their  material  riches  with  the  Jews  when  need 
arises  (27).  When  I  have  completed  this  errand,  and  have  per- 
sonally guaranteed  to  the  Jerusalem  Brothers  the  genuineness  of 
the  love  that  has  prompted  this  gift,  I  shall  immediately  start  for 
Spain  by  way  of  Rome  (28),  My  heart  grows  so  warm  at  the 
thought  of  meeting  you  that  I  know  I  shall  come  to  you  filled 
with  the  blessing  which  Christ  has  so  often  granted  (29).  One 
thing  I  wish  to  lay  upon  your  hearts  with  great  urgency.  As  you 
reverence  Jesus  Christ  our  common  Lord,  and  as  you  feel  that  love 
which  the  Spirit  puts  in  the  hearts  of  all  true  Brothers  for  each 
other,  unite  with  me  in  strenuous  prayer  to  God  in  my  behalf  (30). 
Pray  that  I  may  be  rescued  from  the  murderous  plots  that  I  know 
are  being  laid  for  me  by  my  unbelieving  countrymen  in  Jerusalem. 
Pray  also  that  the  gift  which  I  am  carrying  to  Jerusalem  may  stir 
the  hearts  of  Jewish  believers  there  with  love  for  their  Gentile 

252 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 15:16 

14.  And  I  myself  also  am  persuaded  of  you,  my  breth- 
ren, that  ye  yourselves  are  full  of  goodness,  filled 
with  all  knowledge,  able  also  to  admonish  one 
another. 

15.  But  I  write  the  more  boldly  unto  you  in  some 
measure,  as  putting  you  again  in  remembrance, 
because  of  the  grace  that  was  given  me  of  God, 

16.  that  I  should  be  a  minister  of  Christ  Jesus  unto  the 
Gentiles,  ministering  the  gospel  of  God,  that  the 
offering  up  of  the  Gentiles  might  be  made  accept- 
able, being  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Brothers,  so  that  there  may  be  unity  in  Christ's  body  (31).  Pray 
too  that  I  may  without  hindrance  be  brought  to  you  in  gladness 
of  heart  by  the  will  of  God,  and  have  a  little  time  for  refreshing 
rest  with  you  after  the  perils  of  my  present  task  are  over,  and 
before  my  new  task  in  Spain  begins  (32).  The  God  of  peace  be 
with  you  all.     Amen.     (33)." 

14.  I  myself  also  am  persuaded.  Paul  apologizes  for  giving 
so  much  counsel  to  a  church  in  whose  founding  he  has  had  no 
part.  His  letters  have  been  criticized  in  the  city  where  he  is  now 
writing  as  being  too  authoritative  intone  (2 Cor.  10:9-10).  He 
wishes  to  avoid  making  such  an  impression  on  this  church  from 
which  he  will  soon  need  support  in  carrying  out  his  plan  for  a  great 
mission  on  the  western  edge  of  the  world  (vs.  24,  28). 

15.  I  write.  Better:  "I  have  written."  More  boldly,  than  the 
confidence  expressed  in  v.  14  would  seem  to  necessitate.  In  some 
measure.  Perhaps  better:  "Here  and  there,"  where  Paul  has 
spoken  with  special  force,  for  instance  in  the  preceding  section 
14:  1-15:  13.  Paul  gives  two  excuses  for  his  boldness.  First,  he 
had  not  supposed  that  he  was  telling  them  anything  new;  he  was 
simply  reminding  them  of  what  they  already  understood.  Sec- 
ond, he  must  discharge  the  responsibility  of  an  apostle  to  Gentiles 
which  God  has  graciously  (cf.  i :  5)  placed  upon  him  (i5''-i6)._ 

16.  A  minister.  Evidently,  in  this  connection,  a  ministering 
priest  (cf.  Heb.  8:  2).  Ministering  the  gospel.  Performing 
priestly  functions  in  the  service  of  the  gospel.  The  cSering  up  of 
the  Gentiles.  In  his  priestly  service  he  has  an  offering  to  bring 
to  God,  namely,  the  Gentile  Christians  of  the  empire.  He  is 
serving  faithfully  in  order  that  he  may,  as  a  gospel  priest,  have 
his  offering  in  such  perfect  condition  that  it  will  surely  be  accept- 

253 


15:17  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

17.  I  have  therefore  my  glorying  in  Christ  Jesus  in 
things  pertaining  to  God. 

18.  For  I  will  not  dare  to  speak  of  any  things  save 
those  which  Christ  wrought  through  me,  for  the 
obedience  of  the  Gentiles,  by  word  and  deed, 

19.  in  the  power  of  signs  and  wonders,  in  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  so  that  from  Jerusalem,  and  round 
about  even  unto  lUyricum,  I  have  fully  preached 
the  gospel  of  Christ ; 

able  to  God.     If  it  is  to  be  acceptable,  its  personnel  must  be  made 
holy  by  fellowship  with  the  Holy  Spirit. 

17.  I  have  therefore  my  glorying.  His  ground  of  glorying  is 
the  priestly  service  which  he  performs  in  connection  with  the 
gospel  of  Christ. 

18.  For  I  will  not  dare  to  speak.  He  will  not  need  to  venture 
beyond  the  things  which  Christ  has  enabled  him  to  do,  in  order  to 
have  ample  reason  for  glorying.  For  the  obedience  of  the  Gen- 
tiles.   To  secure  obedient  faith  in  Christ  from  the  Gentiles 

(cf.  1:5). 

19.  In  the  power  of  signs  and  wonders.  In  the  power  of  Christ 
manifested  through  signs  and  wonders  which  Christ  enabled  him 
to  perform.  In  Acts  2:22  "signs  and  wonders"  designate  the 
wonderful  works  of  Jesus.  Paul  evidently  found  himself  able  to 
do  wonderful  deeds  (cf.  2  Cor.  12:  12),  presumably  healings  like 
those  of  Jesus  (cf.  I  Cor.  12:9),  or  perhaps  the  infliction  of  evil 
upon  men  as  discipline  (cf.  I  Cor.  5:3-5).  Others  too  were  able 
to  do  wonderful  deeds  through  their  connection  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  (I  Cor.  12 : 9-10),  whose  presence  with  them  constituted  the 
beginning  of  the  New  Age  with  its  anticipated  powers  (Heb.  6:5). 
From  Jerusalem.  This  implies  that  Paul  had  done  some  preach- 
ing in  Jerusalem  (Gal.  i:  18,  Acts  9:  28-29).  And  roimd  about. 
At  the  distance  of  Paul  and  his  readers  from  Jerusalem,  Syria 
(Gal.  1:21)  might  be  spoken  of  as  round  about  Jerusalem.  Unto 
niyricum.  This  may  or  may  not  include  Illyricum.  He  may 
have  come  simply  within  sight  of  the  mountains  of  Illyricum.  It  is 
not  impossible  however  that  not  long  before  writing  this  letter  he 
had  traveled  along  the  great  Egnatian  road  from  Thessalonica 
even  as  far  as  its  Illyrian  seaport  terminus,  Dyrrhachium  (modern 
Durazzo).  From  this  point  he  could  have  been  ferried  across  to 
Brundisium,  and  then  have  continued  on  the  Egnatian  road  to 
Rome.    He  has  always  been  moving  toward  Rome  (23).    Fully 

254 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  15:24 

20.  yea,  making  it  my  aim  so  to  preach  the  gospel,  not 
where  Christ  was  already  named,  that  I  might  not 
build  upon  another  man's  foundation; 

21.  but,  as  it  is  written,  They  shall  see,  to  whom  no 
tidings  of  him  came,  And  they  who  have  not  heard 
shall  understand. 

22.  Wherefore  also  I  was  hindered  these  many  times 
from  coming  to  you : 

23.  but  now,  having  no  more  any  place  in  these  re- 
gions, and  having  these  many  years  a  longing  to 
come  unto  you, 

24.  whensoever  I  go  unto  Spain  (for  I  hope  to  see  you 

preached.  "Fulfilled  the  gospel."  brought  it  to  its  full  expression. 
Everywhere  Paul  himself  had  apparently  visited  only  the  central 
cities,  but  from  these  centers  he  had  superintended  work  in  large 
surrounding  areas  (Acts  13:49;  14:6;  19:10). 

20.  Not  build  upon  another  man's  foundation.  Paul  had  "been 
ambitious"  to  do  pioneer  work.  Perhaps  he  felt  that  as  the  one 
divinely  commissioned  apostle  to  the  Gentile  world  it  was  always 
his  duty  to  be  in  the  lead  so  far  as  Gentile  preaching  was  con- 
cerned. He  was  appointed  always  to  go  first  and  lay  the  founda- 
tion. He  had,  moreover,  recently  had  sad  occasion  to  see  in 
Corinth  the  conduct  of  unscrupulous  preachers,  who  felt  no  hesi- 
tation about  building  on  another's  foundation  or  even  in  destroy- 
ing it  (H  Cor.  10: 12-16). 

22.  Wherefore.  Because  there  had  been  so  much  pioneer  work 
to  do,  Paul  had  been  repeatedly  kept  from  carrying  out  his  purpose 
to  make  a  brief  friendly  visit  to  Rome,  where  the  foundation  had 
already  been  laid  by  others. 

24.  Whensoever  I  go  imto  Spain.  In  accordance  with  his 
purpose  to  do  only  pioneer  work,  he  will  now  simply  visit  Rome  on 
his  way  to  an  untouched  field  beyond  them.  In  connection  with 
his  visit  to  Spain,  Paul  may  have  had  in  mind  Gaul,  Britain  and 
parts  of  Germany.  He  evidently  regards  Italy  as  already  on  the 
way  to  adequate  evangelization.  There  are  Christians  in  Rome, 
Puteoli  (Acts  28: 13-14)  and  presumably  in  other  Italian  cities.  The 
evangelization  of  the  Gentile  world  seemed  to  him  the  necessary 
preparation  for  the  breaking  in  of  the  New  Age  (i  i :  25),  and  this 
event  had  at  one  time  anyway  seemed  to  him  something  that  might 

255 


15:25  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

in  my  journey,  and  to  be  brought  on  my  way  thith- 
erward by  you,  if  first  in  some  measure  I  shall 
have  been  satisfied  with  your  company) 

35.  but  now,  /  say,  I  go  unto  Jerusalem,  ministering 
unto  the  saints. 

26.  For  it  hath  been  the  good  pleasure  of  Macedonia 

occur  within  his  own  lifetime.  Perhaps  he  knew  but  little  about 
the  opportunities  for  travel  and  evangelization  in  the  remoter 
regions  of  the  northwest  and  north.  Brought  on  my  way  thither- 
ward by  you.  Paul  would  naturally  depend  much  upon  the 
Christians  in  Rome  for  support  in  the  Spanish  mission.  They 
could  help  him  by  their  prayers,  by  sending  him  gifts  of  money 
and  perhaps  evangelists.  They  would  be  to  him  and  his  work 
beyond  them  what  the  church  in  Syrian  Antioch  had  at  one  time 
been.  In  some  measure.  The  intense  "longing"  (v.  23)  for 
them  could  not  be  entirely  satisfied  by  a  passing  visit! 

25.  But  now,  I  say,  I  go  unto  Jerusalem.  For  many  months 
(II  Cor.  8:10,  9:2)  Paul  through  letters  and  committees  (II 
Cor.  8:  16-24)  had  been  collecting  money,  not  only  in  Macedonia 
and  Achaia,  but  also  in  Galatia  (I  Cor.  16:1)  and  presumably  in 
Asia.  This  money,  contributed  by  Gentile  Christians  was 
to  be  carried  by  Paul  himself  accompanied  by  a  committee  of 
Gentile  Christians  (I  Cor.  16:3-4;  Acts  20:  3-4),  as  a  concilia- 
tory gift  to  the  Jewish  Christians  in  Jerusalem.  It  was  tact- 
fully suggested  that  the  Jerusalem  church  could  use  this  money 
in  the  care  of  its  poor,  who  seem  to  have  been  numerous, 
perhaps  as  a  result  of  the  community  policy  that  prevailed  in  the 
early  days  (Acts  2: 44-45;  4:  32),  but  more  probably  as  a  result  of 
social  and  economic  persecutions  inflicted  by  orthodox  Jews  on  a 
sect  which  had  originally  been  largely  made  up  of  the  poorer  folk. 
Paul  relied  largely  on  this  gift  as  a  means  of  bringing  the  discord- 
ant Jewish  and  Gentile  elements  in  the  church  together  (II  Cor. 
9: 12-14),  which  would  naturally  seem  to  him  to  be  a  necessary 
preparation  for  the  Lord's  coming  to  introduce  the  New  Age. 
The  contribution  would  also  tend  to  remove  prejudice  on  the  part 
of  orthodox  Jews  against  a  movement  which  had  become  so  largely 
Gentile  in  its  character,  and  so  prepare  the  way  for  a  national 
Jewish  movement  toward  Christianity  which  also  seemed  to  Paul 
to  be  necessarily  antecedent  to  the  Lord's  coming  (11:1-15; 
25-27).     See  Introduction,  p.  41. 

26.  A  certain  contribution,  a  "sharing."  The  same  word  in 
II  Cor.  9:13. 

256 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   ROMANS  15:31 

and  Achaia  to  make  a  certain  contribution  for 
the  poor  among  the  saints  that  are  at  Jerusalem. 

27.  Yea,  it  hath  been  their  good  pleasure;  and  their 
debtors  they  are.  For  if  the  Gentiles  have  been 
made  partakers  of  their  spiritual  things,  they  owe 
it  to  them  also  to  minister  unto  them  in  carnal 
things. 

28.  When  therefore  I  have  accomplished  this,  and 
have  sealed  to  them  this  fruit,  I  will  go  on  by  you 
unto  Spain. 

29.  And  I  know  that,  when  I  come  unto  you,  I  shall 
come  in  the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  Christ. 

30.  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  by  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  that  ye  strive 
together  with  me  in  your  prayers  to  God  forme; 

31.  that  I  may  be  delivered  from  them  that  are  dis- 

27.  It  hath  been  their  good  pleasure.  The  situation  that  lies 
back  of  II  Cor.  8-9  seems  to  indicate  that  in  Corinth  there  had 
been  no  very  great  heartiness  in  the  matter.  The  Philippians  as 
usual  (Phil.  4:  15-18)  had  taken  the  matter  up  eagerly  (II  Cor. 
8: 1-5).  Their  debtors  they  are.  From  Paul's  viewpoint  "sal- 
vation is  from  the  Jews"  (cf.  Jn.  4:  22).  It  is  "the  Jew  first  and 
also  the  Gentile"  (i:  16).  Gentile  Christians  must  not  let  their 
anti-Jewish  prejudice  make  them  "high-minded"  (11:  17-20). 

28.  Have  sealed  to  them  this  fruit.  The  seal  on  a  package  or 
document  guarantees  the  genuineness  of  its  contents.  Paul  will 
personally  guarantee  to  the  Jerusalem  Christians  that  the  gift 
comes  from  Gentile  Christian  donors,  and  expresses  their  love. 
It  is  called  "fruit"  because  it  is  the  product  of  their  love  (cf.  Gal. 
5:22). 

29.  The  blessing  of  Christ.  The  blessing,  or  benefit,  that  comes 
from  Christ  through  spiritual  association  with  him. 

31.  Delivered  from  them  that  are  disobedient  in  Judaea. 
The  orthodox^  non-Christian  Jews.  Paul's  earlier  experience  in 
Judaea  (I  Thes.  2:  14-16,  Acts  9:  28-30)  naturally  made  him 
dread  this  visit.  There  was  probably  constant  correspondence 
going  on  between  the  authorities  in  Jerusalem  and  the  leaders  of 

257 


15:32      THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

obedient    in    Judaea,   and    tJmt   my  ministration 

which  /  have  for  Jerusalem  may  be  acceptable  to 

the  saints; 
3B.  that  I  may  come  unto  you  in  joy  through  the  will 

of  God,  and  together  with  you  find  rest. 
33.  Now  the  God  of  peace  be  with  you  all.     Amen. 

the  Ghetto  in  every  large  city  of  the  empire.  The  leaders  of  the 
Corinthian  Ghetto,  where  the  feeling  against  Paul  had  been  par- 
ticularly strong  (Acts  18:9-17),  would  have  kept  the  Jerusalem 
authorities  posted  regarding  all  Paul's  plans  and  movements.  He 
knew  that  the  bitter  antagonists,^  "spurious  apostles"  (H  Cor. 
11: 13),  whom  he  had  recently  driven  from  the  field  in  Corinth, 
would  be  waiting  for  him  in  Jerusalem,  the  city  that  had  a  monop- 
oly of  prophet  killing  (Lk.  13:33),  and  would  certainly  be  in 
collusion  with  the  non-Christian  Jews  there.^  The  non-Christian 
Jews,  and  the  ultra  conservative  Jewish  Christians  as  well,  might 
regard  his  gift  as  a  diabolical  effort  to  bribe  Jewish  Christians  to 
tolerate  Gentile  Christianity!  Possibly  he  had  already  learned 
of  the  plot  to  assassinate  him  some  dark  night  on  shipboard  during 
his  prospective  voyage  to  Syria  (Acts  20:  3),  and  knew  that  the 
assassins  would  be  waiting  for  him  in  Jerusalem.  He  was  not 
disappointed  (Acts  23 :  12-13).  May  be  acceptable  to  the  saints. 
The  second  occasion  of  solicitude  was  the  possibility  that  the  gift 
might  not  have  the  conciliatory  influence  he  hoped  it  would  exert 
over  the  Jewish  Christians.  This  great  undertaking,  at  which  he 
had  worked  so  long  and  which  seemed  so  vitally  important,  might 
come  to  nothing. 

32.  With  you  find  rest.     After  the  severe  nervous  strain  of 
the  Jerusalem  visit  is  over  he  feels  that  he  will  certainly  need  rest! 


25« 


V.  Personal  Messages,  ch.  i6  16:2 

I  Phcshe  of  CenchrecE,  bearer  of  the  letter,  introduced 
and  commendedy  16: 1-2. 

16.  I  commend  unto  you  Phoebe  our  sister,  who  is  a 
servant  of  the  church  that  is  at  Cenchreae: 
2,  that  ye  receive  her  in  the  Lord,  worthily  of  the 
saints,  and  that  ye  assist  her  in  whatsoever  matter 

"I  commend  to  you  our  Christian  sister  Phoebe  who  will  bring 
to  you  this  letter.  She  is  well  known  here  as  an  active  worker  in 
the  church  at  Cenchreae  (i).  Receive  her  as  a  disciple  of  the 
Lord  with  all  the  kindness  that  fills  Christian  hearts.  Stand  by 
her  in  any  business  in  which  she  may  need  help.  She  has  stood 
out  as  the  helper  of  many  a  Christian  traveler  in  the  harbor  town. 
I  myself  have  been  the  recipient  of  her  hospitality  (2)." 

1.  A  servant  of  the  church  that  is  at  Cenchreae.  On  the  des- 
tination of  this  chapter  see  Introduction,  p.  70.  Cenchreae  was 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  Corinth,  of  which  city  it  was  the  eastern 
seaport.  It  must  have  been  a  busy  suburb  well  supplied  with 
porters,  warehouses  and  shipping  firms,  since  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  passenger  traffic  and  transportation  of  goods  across  the 
isthmus.  The  word  "servant,"  or  "deaconess,"  indicates  that 
Phoebe  was  more  than  an  ordinary  member  of  the  church,  as  does 
the  fact  that  she  had  been  a  "helper  of  many"  (v.  2).  If  her  busi- 
ness in  Rome  was  church  business,  this  would  be  further  indication 
of  her  official  position.  If  she  had  private  business  to  look  after 
in  Rome,  that  fact  would  indicate  that  she  possessed  property  and 
was  able  in  a  semi-official  way  to  help  the  church,  especially  by 
keeping  open  house  for  the  many  Christian  travelers  who  would 
be  waiting  in  the  harbor  town  for  the  sailing  of  their  ships.  She 
may  have  once  helped  Paul  in  this  way  (v.  2,  cf.  Acts  18: 18). 
She  would  then  be  like  the  family  of  Stephanas  of  Corinth,  who 
"set  themselves  to  minister"  (I  Cor.  16: 15).  Probably  she  was 
the  bearer  of  this  letter. 

2.  Worthily  of  the  saints.  With  the  generosity  that  ought  to 
characterize  Christian  intercourse. 

259 


26:3  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

she  may  have  need  of  you :  for  she  herself  also  hath 
been  a  succourer  of  many,  and  of  mine  own  self. 

a  Greetings  to  many  known  personally  or  by  reputation 
to  Paul,  16:3-16. 

3.  Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila  my  fellow-workers  in 
Christ  Jesus, 

4.  who  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own  necks;  unto 
whom  not  only  I  give  thanks,  but  also  all  the 
churches  of  the  Gentiles  : 

5.  and  salute  the  church  that  is  in  their  house.    Salute 

3.  Prisca  and  Aquila.  A  wife  and  husband,  (Acts  18:2). 
Paul  calls  the  wife  Prisca  in  his  three  references  to  them.  Twice 
he  places  the  wife's  name  first,  here  and  in  II  Tim.  4:  19,  while  in 
I  Cor.  16: 19  the  husband's  name  comes  first.  In  Luke's  three 
references  to  them  (Acts  18:2,  18,  26)  he  calls  the  wife  Priscilla,  a 
diminutive  form  of  Prisca,  and  twice  places  her  name  first.  When 
they  are  first  heard  of  they  are  in  Corinth,  having  been  obliged  to 
leave  Rome  because  the  Emperor  ordered  the  police  to  clear  the 
Gh»tto  (Acts  18:2).  They  were  tent- makers  like  Paul,  and  so 
Paul  naturally  lodged  and  worked  at  his  trade  with  them  (Acts 
18:  3).^  Since  nothing  is  said  in  Acts  about  their  becoming  Chris- 
tians, it  may  be  inferred  that  they  were  already  Christians  when 
they  first  met  Paul.  Aquila  was  certainly  a  Jew  and  born  in 
Pontus  (Acts  18:2).  Prisca  is  a  Latin  name  and  it  is  possible 
that  she  was  a  Roman  lady.  The  Latin  name,  however,  is  not 
enough  to  prove  it,  for  many  Jews  had  Latin  names.  They  went 
with  Paul  to  Ephesus  (Acts  18:  18-19;  I  Cor.  16:  19),  and  on  the 
supposition  that  this  chapter  is  an  integral  part  of  the  letter  (see 
Introduction,  p.  72)  they  returned  later  to  Rome. 

4.  Who  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own  necks.  "To  risk  one's 
neck"  was  probably  a  current  phrase  meaning  to  ri^  one's  life. 
A  roll  found  in  the  excavations  at  Herculaneum  speaks  of  one 
who  for  "the  most  beloved  of  his  relatives  or  friends  would  read- 
ily stake  his  neck,"  (Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East, 
p.  120.).  Paul  had  been  in  peril  in  Asia  when  Prisca  and  Aquila 
were  with  him  (I  Cor.  16: 19,  15:  32,  II  Cor.  i :  8-10).  All  Gen- 
tile churches  had  occasion  to  thank  them  for  what  they  had  done 
to  rescue  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 

5.  The  church  that  is  in  their  house.     The  group  of  believers 

260 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  l6:p 

Epsenetus  my  beloved,  who  is  the  first  fruits  of 
Asia  unto  Christ. 

6.  Salute  Mary,  who  bestowed  much  labour  on  you. 

7.  Salute  Andronicus  and  Junias,  my  kinsmen,  and 
my  fellow-prisoners,  who  are  of  note  among  the 
apostles,  who  also  have  been  in  Christ  before  me. 

8.  Salute  Ampliatus  my  beloved  in  the  Lord. 

9.  Salute  Urbanus  our  fellow-worker  in  Christ,  and 
Stachys  my  beloved. 

that  was  accustomed  to  meet  in  their  house,  since  there  were  at 
this  time  of  course  no  buildings  corresponding  to  modern  church 
edifices  (cf.  Col.  4: 15,  Philem.  2).  Perhaps  vs.  14-15  indicate 
other  similar  groups.  Prisca  and  Aquila  made  the  same  use  of 
their  home  in  Ephesus  (I  Cor.  16:  19).  First  fruits  of  Asia  unto 
Christ.  Paul's  first  convert  in  the  province  of  Asia,  the  beginning 
of  a  great  harvest  for  Christ.  Paul  naturally  remembered  with 
peculiar  distinctness  and  affection  his  first  converts  in  any  region 
(cf.  I  Cor.  16:  15). 

6.  Mary  who  bestowed  much  labor  on  you.  Like  a  good  mis- 
sionary statesman  Paul  kept  himself  thoroughly  informed  about 
the  details  and  workers  in  every  Gentile  church.  Mary  was  one 
who  had  been  reported  to  him  as  conspicuously  active  in  caring 
for  the  sick  and  poor  or  looking  after  the  tempted.  The  same 
word  in  a  similar  connection  occurs  in  I  Cor.  16: 16;  I  Thess.  5:12. 

7.  Andronicus  and  Junias.  The  Greek  form  of  the  second 
name  may  be  either  masculine,  Junias,  or  feminine,  Junia.  If 
feminine,  a  woman  is  called  an  apostle.  My  kinsmen. 
Probably  fellow  Jews  (cf .  9:3).  If  so,  an  indication  that  there  were 
but  few  Jews  among  the  Christians  in  Rome,  since  these  two  were 
notable  because  they  were  Jews.  Paul  wishes  to  identify  himself 
with  the  Jews,  and  so  to  overcome  the  erroneous  opinion  of  the 
Gentile  Christians  that  he  has  turned  against  his  nation.  See  on 
9:1.  Fellow  prisoners.  They  had  at  some  time  been  in  prison 
with  Paul.  Of  note  among  the  apostles.  Not  "esteemed  by  the 
apostles,"  but  themselves  belonging  to  the  distinguished  but  not 
sharply  defined  class  of  commissioned  traveling  preachers,  a  class 
in  which,  because  its  limits  were  not  sharply  defined,  some  un- 
worthy persons  could  claim  membership  (II  Cor.  11:5,  13)-  The 
conversion  of  these  two  men  had  antedated  Paul's  conversion. 

8-10.  The  names  of  persons  known  personally  or  by  reputation 
to  Paul — two  called  "my  beloved,"  perhaps  to  cUstinguish  them  as 

261 


l6:iO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

10.  Salute  Apelles  the  approved  in  Chris  Salute 
them  which  are  of  the  household  of  Aristobulus. 

1 1 .  Salute  Herodion  my  kinsman.  Salute  them  of  the 
household  of  Narcissus,  which  are  in  the  Lord. 

12.  Salute  Tryphaena  and  Tryphosa,  who  labour  in  the 
Lord.  Salute  Persis  the  beloved,  which  laboured 
much  in  the  Lord. 

13.  Salute  Rufus  the  chosen  in  the  Lord,  and  his 
mother  and  mine. 


personal  acquaintances.  Ampliatus,  Urbanus  and  many  of  the 
names  in  the  following  verses  appear  in  inscriptions  or  elsewhere 
as  the  names  of  slaves  (see  Sanday,  Romans;  and  Lightfoot, 
Philippians,  pp.  173-177).  This  fact,  of  course,  does  not  prove 
that  the  persons  mentioned  here  were  necessarily  slaves.  Light- 
foot  thinks  that  many  of  them  were  slaves  who  had  come  into  the 
possession  of  the  Emperor,  and  were  among  those  "of  Caesar's 
household"  (Phil.  4:22).  Of  tiie  household  of  Aristobulus. 
Christians  who  were,  or  had  been,  members  of  the  household  of 
Aristobulus,  either  as  slaves  or  dependents.  Aristobulus  himself 
either  is  no  longer  living  or,  if  living,  is  presumably  not  a  Christian, 
since  no  word  is  sent  to  him.  Aristobulus  was  a  common  name 
in  the  Herod  family  and,  since  the  Herods  were  often  in  Rome, 
this  may  have  been  one  of  them.  Lightfoot  {Philippians,  p.  175) 
maintains  that  he  was. 

11.  Herodion  my  kinsman.  Probably  another  Jew.  The 
household  of  Narcissus.  Certain  of  the  slaves  and  dependents  of 
Narcissus  were  Christians.  A  man  of  this  name,  a  freedman,  had 
been  a  wealthy  secretary  of  the  Emperor  Claudius  (Suetonius, 
Lives  of  the  Emperors,  Claudius  28). 

12.  Three  Christian  women,  the  last  named  perhaps  a  personal 
friend  of  Paul,  and  the  other  two  known  to  him  by  reputation. 
See  on  v.  6. 

13.  Rufus  the  chosen.  A  man  of  such  special  excellence  of 
character  as  to  warrant  applying  to  him  this  high  designation  of 
God's  true  people.  A  man  of  this  name  was  famous  in  the  region 
for  which  Mark's  Gospel  was  prepared  (presumably  Rome),  be- 
cause his  father  had  carried  Jesus'  cross  (Mk.  15:21).  His 
mother  and  mine.  Paul  had  somewhere  temporarily  found  a 
home  with  this  family  and  been  treated  like  a  son  by  his  friend's 
mother. 

262 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS  16:17 

14.  Salute  Asyncritus,  Phlegon,  Hermes,  Patrobas, 
Hermas,  and  the  brethren  that  are  with  them. 

15.  Salute  Philologus  and  Julia,  Nereus  and  his  sister, 
and  Olympas,  and  all  the  saints  that  are  with 
them. 

16.  Salute  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss.  All  the 
churches  of  Christ  salute  you. 

3  Warning  against  the  type  of  licentious  Christianity 
that  is  appearing  here  and  there  in  the  churches^ 
16: 17-20. 

14.  A  group  of  men  who  for  some  reason  have  quarters  together 
or  live  in  the  same  part  of  the  city,  and  are  in  some  sense  leaders, 
for  they  have  "brothers  with  them." 

15.  A  husband  and  wife,  a  brother  and  sister  and  a  fifth  person 
also  constitute  the  nucleus  of  a  group  of  Christians.  It  may  be 
that  this  group  and  the  preceding  lived  in  some  village  near 
enough  to  the  city  to  be  in  constant  communication  with  the 
Christians  in  the  city. 

16.  Salute  one  another.  They  are  to  have  the  same  affection 
for  each  other  that  Paul  has  himself  just  been  expressing  for  them, 
and  such  as  all  the  churches  of  Christ  everywhere  surely  feel  for 
them  (cf.  1:8). 

"I  most  earnestly  beg  you,  Brothers,  to  be  on  your  guard 
against  the  first  appearance  among  you  of  those  who  falsely  pro- 
fess to  be  Christians,  but  who,  wherever  they  go,  cause  bitter 
dissension,  and  ruin  the  character  of  those  whom  they  influ- 
ence. We  have  seen  them  here  in  Corinth.  Their  views  are 
utterly  opposed  to  those  which  you  were  taught.  You  will  cer- 
tainly turn  your  backs  instantly  upon  them  whenever  they  may 
appear  (17).  They  are  no  "bondservants"  of  Jesus  Christ,  but 
are  in  bondage  to  their  own  lusts.  They  present  their  foul  views 
in  most  fair  and  persuasive  speech  so  that  some  very  good  people 
have  been  led  off  by  them  (18).  It  will  not  be  so  among  you,  for 
your  steadfast  obedience  to  Christ  and  his  truth  is  talked  of  by 
the  Brothers  everywhere.  I  rejoice  in  your  well  deserved  reputa- 
tion and  I  wish  you  to  continue  skillful  in  recognizing  and  choosing 
the  good,  single  minded  and  unswerving  in  your  opposition  to 
the  evil  (19).  The  God  of  peace  will  soon  give  you  rest  from  the 
attacks  of  such  evil  men,  when  in  the  swift  coming  judgment  day 

263 


l5:i7  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

17.  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  mark  them  which 
are  causing  the  divisions  and  occasions  of  stumb- 
ling, contrary  to  the  doctrine  which  ye  learned: 
and  turn  away  from  them. 

18.  For  they  that  are  such  serve  not  our  Lord  Christ, 
but  their  own  belly ;  and  by  their  smooth  and  fair 
speech  they  beguile  the  hearts  of  the  innocent. 

19.  For  your  obedience  is  come  abroad  unto  all  men. 
I  rejoice  therefore  over  you :  but  I  would  have  you 
wise  unto  that  which  is  good,  and  simple  unto  that 
which  is  evil. 

20.  And  the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under 

your  feet  shortly.     The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

Christ  be  with  you. 

he  will  put  Satan  and  all  his  ministers  under  your  feet.     Till  then 
may  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  (20)." 

17-18.  Them  which  are  causing  the  divisions  and  occasions  of 
stumbling.  These  persons  are  libertines  (v.  18),  Gentile  Chris- 
tians who  do  not  realize  that  chastity  is  an  essential  part  of  Chris- 
tian ethics.  Their  point  of  view  has  been  discussed  in  chapters  6-8. 
They  are  not  now  active  in  Rome,  but  they  are  to  be  found  in  many 
places  and  have  recently  made  serious  trouble  in  Corinth,  the 
city  from  which  Paul  is  now  writing.  In  the  last  clause  of  v.  16 
Paul  has  looked  over  the  world,  and  in  imagination  seen  all  Gen- 
tile Christian  churches  sending  greeting  to  the  Gentile  Christian 
church  in  the  capital  city.  This  leads  him  to  speak  of  the  common 
peril  of  all  Gentile  Christianity,  and  to  warn  the  brethren  to  be 
watching  for  the  first  insidious  appearance  of  it  there. 

19.  Your  obedience.  Not  obedience  to  Paul  (Julicher),  but 
obedience  to  the  true  teaching  which  they  had  learned  (v.  17) 
from  those  who  first  led  them  into  the  pure  Christian  life;  obedi- 
ence to  Christ  whom  they  serve  (v.  18,  cf.  also  15:  18).  Simple. 
Without  any  admixture  of  evil. 

20.  Bruise  Satan  imder  your  feet  shortly.  An  allusion  to  Gen. 
3:15,  which  is  to  find  speedy  fulfilment  in  the  judgment  day  so 
near  at  hand.     (Cf.  Testament  of  Levi,  18:  12.) 

The  benediction  appears  at  various  places  in  different  texts — 
here,  at  the  end  of  v.  24,  at  the  end  of  v.  27,  and  sometimes  in  two 
of  these  three  places. 

264 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 


16:23 


4   Greetings  from  a  group  of  brothers  closely  associated 
with  Paul  and  interested  in  the  dictation  of  his 
letter,  16:  21-23. 

21.  Timothy  my  fellow- worker  saluteth  you;  and  Lu- 
cius and  Jason  and  Sosipater,  my  kinsmen. 

22.  I  Tertius,  who  write  the  epistle,  salute  you  in  the 
Lord. 

23.  Gaius  my  host,  and  of  the  whole  church,  saluteth 
you.  Erastus  the  treasurer  of  the  city  saluteth 
you,  and  Quartus  the  brother. 

21.  Timothy.  A  half  breed  Jew  whose  pious  grandmother  (II 
Tim.  1 :  5)  belonged  to  the  more  liberal  type  of  Jews,  since  she 
allowed  her  daughter  to  marry  a  synagogue  Gentile,  and  her  grand- 
son to  grow  up  uncircumcised;  one  of  Paul's  South  Galatian  con- 
verts (Acts  16:  1-3,  I  Cor.  4:  17),  and  his  favorite  assistant  in 
missionary  work  (Phil.  2:  19-22).  He  was  at  this  time  planning 
to  go  with  Paul  to  Jerusalem,  perhaps  as  a  Galatian  member  of 
the  delegation  appointed  to  carry  the  Gentile  gift  to  Jerusalem 
(Acts  20:4,  I  Cor.  16:  1-4,  Rom.  15:25-26).  Jason.  Possibly 
the  Thessalonian  (Acts  17:5).  Sosipater.  Possibly  Sopater  of 
Berea  (Acts  20:4).  My  kmsmen.  Jews.  Another  emphasis 
of  Paul's  pride  in  being  a  Jew,  especially  necessary  in  writing  to 
this  strongly  Gentile  church  which  thinks  that  Paul  has  aban- 
doned his  people.     See  on  9:  i  and  16:  7. 

^  22.  Tertius.  The  scribe  who  takes  Paul's  dictation  is  a  Chris- 
tian, and  asks  permission  to  insert  his  own  greeting  here.  It  may 
be  that  whenever  Paul  summoned  his  scribe  to  take  dictation  dur- 
ing the  days  or  weeks  in  which  this  letter  was  being  prepared,  a 
group  of  friends  gathered  about  him  to  hear  his  words  and  send 
their  greetings. 

23.  Gaius  my  host.  Paul  was  the  guest  of  this  Christian  gen- 
tleman, and  was  probably  at  this  moment  dictating  the  letter  in 
his  home.  He  was  one  of  the  very  few  whom  Paul  himself  had 
baptised  (I  Cor.  1:^14).,  Because  large  groups  of  Corinthian 
Christians  often  met  in  his  house,  or  because  he  constantly  enter- 
tained traveling  Christians,  he  was  called  "host  of  the  whole 
church."  The  treasurer  of  the  city.  Presumably  Corinth.  Cf. 
II  Tim.  4:20.  Quartus.  Perhaps  the  slave  of  Erastus.  In  that 
case  it  is  particularly  courteous  to  call  him  "the  brother"  (cf. 
Col.  4:9,  Philem.  16). 

265 


l6:27      THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS 

5   Concluding  Doxology,   16:25-27 

25.  Now  to  him  that  is  able  to  stablish  you  according 
to  my  gospel  and  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ, 
according  to  the  revelation  of  the  mystery  which 
hath  been  kept  in  silence  through  times  eternal, 

26.  but  now  is  manifested,  and  by  the  scriptures  of  the 
prophets,  according  to  the  commandment  of  the 
eternal  God,  is  made  known  unto  all  the  nations 
unto  obedience  of  faith ; 

27.  to  the  only  wise  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to 
whom  be  the  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 

"Now  to  him  that  is  able  to  establish  you  in  the  pure  life  that 
leads  surely  into  the  salvation  of  the  New  Age,  according  to  the 
proclamation  of  the  Lordship  of  Jesus  made  in  the  gospel  that  I 
preach,  and  according  to  the  disclosure  of  the  secret  purpose  that 
lay  for  ages  concealed  in  the  mind  of  God  (25),  a  purpose  that  is 
now  being  wrought  out  in  action  and  that  the  changeless  God  long 
ago  commanded  the  prophets  to  announce  to  all  the  Gentiles  in 
order  to  secure  froni  them  the  obedience  that  springs  from  faith 
(26) — to  this  only  wise  God  we  ascribe  glory  for  ever  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  (27)." 

25.  The  beginning  of  a  concluding  doxology,  long  and  digni- 
fied, like  the  opening  sentences  of  the  great  epistle,  i :  1-17.  My 
gospel.  See  on  2: 16.  The  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
preaching  about  Jesus  Christ  as  Lord  (cf.  10:  8-9,  H  Cor.  4:  5). 
The  revelation  of  the  mystery.  The  gospel  reveals  a  "mystery," 
that  is,  a  secret,  not  necessarily  hard  to  understand  but  hard  to 
find  out.  According  to  1 1 :  25  this  secret,  that  long  lay  undisclosed 
in  the  mind  of  God,  is  God's  method  of  bringing  Gentiles  and  Jews 
together  into  one  race  ready  for  the  New  Age  through  their  com- 
mon spiritual  fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ   (cf.  Col.  1:26-28). 

26.  By  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets.  The  secret  lay  in  the 
mind  of  God  during  the  ages  before  creation  (cf.  Col.  i :  26;  Eph. 
1:4),  but  appeared  in  what  God  commanded  the  prophets  to  writq. 
The  nations.  Better,  the  Gentiles.  See  on  1:5.  Unto  obedience 
of  faith.     Intended  to  secure  an  obedience  springing  from  faith. 

27.  To  whom.  Refers  to  Christ  as  the  sentence  stands,  but  the 
sense  seems  to  require  that  the  glory  be  ascribed  to  God.  Per- 
haps the  MSS.  which  omit  the  relative  should  be  followed. 

266 


INDEX 
I.  GENERAL  INDEX 

Abraham,  righteousness  of,  1 26-134' 

Adam,  4.  I39-I44- 

Adoption,  I75f-.  187. 

Ages,  present  and  future.  4.  S.  I3S  f-.  I39.  140,  IS9.  I74- 

Ananias,  7. 

Angels,  3.  4.  S,  54.  S6. 

Anti-Semitism  in  the  church,  38  (.,  SO  fT.,  186,  193.  21s.  217. 

ApoUonius,  242,  246. 

Apostle,  13  f..  88,  261. 

Apuleius,  149  f  •  ....  ,  ^  T-w    ^1.    « 

Atonement.    See  Reconciliation  and  Jesus,  Death  of. 

Bacon,  22. 
Baptism,  148  flf . 
Baur,  C.  F.,  20.  29,  70. 
Bondservant,  88,  96. 

Caius,  27. 

Carre,  18. 

Case,  22. 

Charles,  R.  H.,  2. 

Clemen,  240. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  27. 

Collection  for  Jerusalem  Christians,  31.  4i.  256. 

Conybeare,  F.  C,  242,  246. 

Corssen,  65,  67. 

Cyprian,  65. 

David,  89,  128. 
Death,  and  the  law,  55- 

overcome  by  Jesus,  18. 

Pauline  conception  of,  162.  171. 

personalized  or  personified,  3.  SS- 
Deissmann.  72,  88,  122,  260. 
Denney,  137,  216. 
Dio  Cassius,  25. 
Dionysius,  26. 
Drews,  Arthur,  21. 

Eleazar,  7. 

Elements,  3.  18.  56,  60. 

Ephesus,  possible  destination  of  Romans  16,  7i-7S. 

Erbes,  71. 

Eternal  life.  105,  172. 

Ethical  teaching,  19  f.,  52  f.,  61. 

Faith,  IS.  16,  44ff.,  59,  96  f.,  120.  122,  124,  203  ff..  227. 
Fall.  142,  160  f . 

Flesh.  2.  3,  4,  II,  45.  47-SO,  89,  146.  IS8.  I59.  166,  168,  170,  171,  I73.  I74.  I7S. 
176. 

267 


INDEX 


Galatians,  relation  to  Romans,  54-57. 

Gentile  Christians  in  relation  to  Jewish  Christians,  37-40,  41,  186. 

Gentiles  in  the  Messianic  Kingdom,  7,  8,  14,  131. 

Gifford,  70. 

Glory,  2,  II,  177,  178. 

Gospel,  88,  95. 

Government,  authority  of,  235  f. 

Grace,  13,  14.  I5.  9i,  I37. 

Greek  influence,  8. 

Harris,  197. 
Heavens,  2. 
Heraclitus,  167. 
Herford,  117. 
Hort,  230. 

Irenaeus,  65. 
Izates,  7- 

Jerusalem,  31,  41,  256. 

Jesus,  death  of.  10,  17  f.,  45.  60,  121-124,  13s,  138,  i57  f-.  170. 
personality  of,  60  f. 
Pharisaic  view  of,  9  flf . 
resurrection  of,  10,  11,  12,  18,  90,  135,  173. 
Jewish  Christians,  relation  to  Gentile  Christians,  37-40,  41,  186. 
Jewish  Nation  and  the  Jesus  Messianic  movement,  50  ff.,  184,  188,  191,  193, 

199,  203,  206,  208,  209,  212,  213,  217-221. 
Jews,  in  the  dispersion,  10,  loi,  208. 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  50  ff . 

primacy  of,  6.  37  f-.  Si  f-.  ii5.  129.  I3i,  210,  218,  221. 
Judgment,  and  grace,  15. 

and  the  law,  6,  8. 
Jewish  conception  of,  4,  S- 
Jiilicher,  29,  264. 
Justification,  97,  107,  120  f.,  130-135.  138. 

Kingdom  of  God,  3,  131. 

Lake,  28,  64,  67. 

Law  of  Moses,  function  of,  16  f.,  46-50,  54  ff.,  117,  119.  132.  144  f-.  159-167,  170, 
202. 

in  the  Messianic  Kingdom,  6,  8,  9,  49 
Law,  Roman,  iS7.  176. 
Lightfoot,  32,  67,  75.  121,  122,  262. 
"Lord"  as  a  title,  90. 
Lucius,  149  f. 
Liitgert,  29,  47. 

Marcion,  20,  63  f.,  66  f.,  69. 

Mercy-seat,  122. 

Messiah,  and  the  judgment,  5. 

death  of,  17  f- 

in  creation,  5. 

Paul's  conception  of,  4. 

sinlessness  of ,  5- 
Miracles,  3,  254. 
Moffatt,  108. 
Moulton,  J.  H.,  176. 
Muntz,  176. 
Mystery  religions,  149  f.,  240. 


Old  Testament,  use  of,  6,  195,  197- 

268 


INDEX 


Origen,  63  f.,  66,  67,  122. 
Orosius.  25. 

Papias,  27. 

Paul,  apostleship  of,  13. 

author  of  Romans,  20  ff . 

Christian  religious  experience  of,  1 1-20. 

conversion  of,  11,  12. 

effect  of  conversion  on  his  theology,  13-20. 

ethics  of,  19  f.,  52  f.,  61. 

Greek  influence  on,  8,  108. 

pre-Christian  religious  experience  of,  i-ii. 

presuppositions  of,  1-8. 
Paul  and  Thecla,  Acts  of,  95- 
Peter,  Acts  of,  26. 

in  Rome,  26-29. 
Pfleiderer,  29. 
Philo,  loi. 

Presuppositions  of  Paul,  1-8,  58. 
Prophets  in  the  church,  228  f. 
Propitiation,  121  f.,  123. 
Psychology,  Pauline,  166. 
Pythagoras,  242. 

Reconciliation,  121  f.,  124,  139- 
Redemption,  121,  178. 
Renan,  68. 

Righteousness,  of  God,  96  f.,  98,  119  f..  123  f. 
through  faith,  15.  127,  203  ff. 
through  law,  117,  126,  132,  202  ff. 
Ritschl,  122. 
Robertson,  J.  M.,  21. 
Roman  church,  nationality,  29-32. 
organization  of,  33- 
social  standing  of,  32  f. 
Romans,  Epistle,  a  circular  letter,  67  ff. 

analysis  of,  76-81. 

authorship,  20  ff. 

bibliography,  82-85. 

date  of  writing,  34  f . 

integrity  of,  62. 

main  ideas  of,  44-53- 

place  of  writing,  34  f. 

purpose  of,  36-43. 

two  letters,  70-7S. 

value  of  in  modern  religious  experience,  58. 
Rome,  early  Christians  in,  24  ff. 

Jews  in,  23  f. 
Ryder,  70. 

Sacrifice,  17,  18,  60,  122,  170. 

Saints,  91- 

Salvation,  95,  139,  205. 

Sanday-Headlam,  24,  29,  32,  67,  69,  75,  89,  96,  108,  126,  197,  198,  262. 

Schechter,  117,  142. 

Schiirer,  24. 

Selection,  salvation  by,  51  f-,  188,  190  f.,  194  ff-.  211. 

Sexual  immorality  among  Gentile  Christians,  39  f-.  47  f-.  148,  IS2,  I5S. 

Sin,  and  faith-righteous  men,  146-183- 

and  the  law,  16  f.,  46-50,  54  ff-.  ii7.  HQ,  I44  f- 

introduced  into  present  age,  4,  141,  142. 

overcome  by  Jesus,  18. 

personalized  or  personified,  3.  55.  151.  166. 

269 


INDEX 


Smith.  W.  B.,  21. 

Son  of  David,  89. 

Son  of  God.  89. 

Sons  of  God.  173.  176.  177. 

Spain,  Paul's  mission  to,  40,  74.  94.  206,  255- 

Spirit,  2,  3,  4,  II.  45.  47-50.  89.  146.  159,  166,  168,  170,  171,  175,  176. 

Spirit  of  God.  5.  93.  138.  172,  176,  178. 

Spiritual  body.  2,  105,  149.  175  f.,  177,  178. 

Spiritual  gifts,  16,  93,  228  ff. 

Spitta,  70. 

Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  8,  19. 
Tongues,  gift  of,  16,  176,  179. 

Unification  platform,  Epiatle  to  the  Romang  a,  36-43,  184  f. 

Vegetarianism,  242. 

Weber.  9,  99,  104,  108,  117,  126,  127,  132,  142,  216. 

Weinel,  121. 

Weiss.  B..  29. 

Weizsacker.  29. 

Wrath  of  God,  100,  139. 


Zahn.  24,  31,  66. 


270 


II.  INDEX  TO  REFERENCES 

Genesia 3   142, 166 

3:3  162 

3:6  161 

3: 13 162 

3:1s 264 

3: 17-18 174.178 

6:5  161 

12:3  132 

12:7  132 

13:  14-18 132 

13: 16 132 

IS       129 

is:  S  132. 134 

15:6  127 

is:  7-8 132 

17    129 

17:5  133 

17:8  132 

17:  II 129 

21: 12 190 

32:  28 187 

Exodus 4:22 89, 187 

9:  12 194 

9:  16 194 

9:  34 I9S 

20:  17 161 

34:  7.  8 187 

25:  17 122 

33:  13 194 

33:  16 193 

33:  18-19 197 

33:  19 193 

34:  10 187 

40:  34-35 187 

Leviticus 18:5  202 

19:  18 238 

Numbers 15:  17-21 216 

Deuteronomy 29:  4  • 212 

30:6   204 

30:  11-14 204 

32:  21 208 

32:3s 234 

I  Samuel 12:22 210 

II  Samuel 7 :  I4 89 

Job 1:6   173 

2:1   173 

38:7   173 

41:  11 223 

Psalms 19:4  208 

29:1   173 

32: 1-2 128 

34:22 88 

44:  II 183 

271 


INDEX 


Psalms 44: 13 183 

44:  22 182 

44:  26 183 

54:3   121 

69:9   248 

69 :  2 1 2 13,  249 

69:  22-23 213 

69:  2S 213 

7 1 :  20 204 

86:14 • 121 

89:  3   88 

89:6 173 

94 :  14 210 

107:  26 204 

116:  II .  . 114 

118:  22 201 

143:  1-2 97 

145:7-8 97 

Proverbs 3:4   234 

3:  7    234 

25:21-22 23s 

Isaiah 1:9   I99 

8 :  14 201 

10:  22 198 

II        178 

27:9    221 

28:  16 201,  205 

29:  10 212 

29:16 195 

35         178 

40:13 223 

41:  8    127 

44:3    138 

45:9-10 195 

45:23 90 

52:  5    no 

52:  7    207 

53:6    135 

53:  12 135 

59:20 221 

60        131 

64:  8    I9S 

65 :  1-2 209 

65:  17 178 

66:  22 178 

Jereraiah 18:6    195 

31:31-34 187 

Ezekiel 36:20 no 

Hosea ..;........ 1:10 197 

2:23 197 

11:  I    89 

Joel.  ;...-.  .■.•..-.•.•. 2:32 206 

Amos.. 3:7    ...-.•. 88 

Habakkuk 2:4 .•.•..-.::.  98 

Zechatiah ......... 1:6   88 

Malachi i :  2-3 191 

Wisdom  of  Solomon ....   12-14 99 

12:20,25,26 99 

13:6   99 

13:8    99 

14 :  23-29 loi 

I  Maccabees 8, 12, 14, 15 24 


272 


INDEX 


II  Maccabees 7 :  38 ; 17 

Matthew 3:9   104 

S:S    170 

S:  40 114 

11:  25 109 

16:  16 89 

20:  15 138 

22 :  35-40 20 

23:  15 14, 109 

25:34 176 

25:41 187 

26:  63 89 

27:  34 • 213,249 

Mark 3:22 9 

7:9 219 

7:  IS.  18,  19 24s 

8:29 89 

9:  12 17 

11:22 124 

12:  10 201 

.2:  28-34 238 

14:21.  . 17 

14:2s :...■ ISO 

14:  36 174, 176 

14:61 89 

15:  21  ...:..  ; 262 

Luke i  i  i .  i  ...•..■  1 :  71 95 

8:31 183 

13:33 258 

17:3    233 

18:12...;.;. 190 

20:  36 173, 176 

21:28 121 

24:  25-26 17 

24:  45-46 17 

John 1 :  47 187 

4:22 257 

12:36 134 

18:3 239 

Acts i:  20 213 

2:  xo 24 

2 :  16  ff 176 

2:22 254 

2:  29 187 

2:37 187 

2:  44-45 ■. 256 

3:  17 187 

3:19-20 216 

3:  19-21.  .. 9,    18 

4:  32 ..■ 256 

4:  36 230 

6:  I,  4  •  •  •  •  • 229 

6:  15 ..•. II 

7:  54-60 II 

9:  1-18 II 

9:  28-29.  ...  . 254 

9:  28-30 257 

"=I8----- 195 

13:1s,  26.38 187 

13:  49 255 

14:6    25s 

14:  15-17 , 99 


273 


INDEX 


Acta 14:  23 33 

is:  I   139 

IS:S   "9 

16:1-3 26s 

16:30 90 

17:4   39.186 

17:5   26s 

17:  18 9S 

17:  27-30 99 

17:30 124 

17:32 95 

18:1-3 25.73 

18:2    73.260 

18: 3   260 

18:  9-17 258 

18:  12-16 236 

18: 18 359. 260 

18: 18-19 260 

18:  36 260 

19: 1.  10 72 

19:  10.  .1 2SS 

19:  31.  35-38 236 

19:  37 "O 

3o:  1-3 35 

30: 3   43.  311.  358 

ao:  3-4 69. 256 

ao:  4  34. 26s 

ai:  lO-ii 239 

ai:  31 186 

31 :  28 186 

33: 3-31 II 

33:4  10 

33:28 8 

33: 6  7. 187 

33: 12-13 42. 3X1, 358 

35:  9-12 71 

36: 1-23 II 

36:  10 10 

36:  lO-II II 

36: 14 II.  12 

36:  24 95 

38:  13 71 

38:  13-14 25s 

38:14 71 

38:  21-33 36 

I  Corinthiant 1:1-3 88 

1:2  197 

1 :  14 35. 26s 

«:  14-17 149 

«:  15 •     149 

1:17 88 

s :  20-33 loi 

1:33 95,201 

1:36 33 

3:i-s loi 

3:8-13 ^5 

3:1-3 164 

4:1   94 

4:9  14 

4: 17 36s 

5-6 47.  155 

5:1-8 ,.,,,,,.,,,, 148 


274 


INDEX 


I  Corinthians. ........ .     5:2   57 

'  '      '  •         S :  3^5 254 

'         '    ?:5  ••• 3.171 

5:7 122 

5:9-13 57 

S:i3 148 

6:1    114 


6:3 


144 


6:3   6 

5*  9-11 100, 102 

6: 9-17 40 

6:  9-20 108, 148 

6: 12-13 iSi 

6: 13-17 173 

7:  22 88 

7:40 220 

f        • 242 

8:  S-6 90, 188 

8:6  2 

9: 9-10 ! . . !  !6, 197 

9: 19-22 238 

9:21 186 

9:22. 215 

9:  24.  26 194 

10       242 

10: 2        148 

10:  25  ff 242 

11:3   7 

I*        93.  176,  232 

12-14 228 

12:3    90,205 

12:  4-II 3,  228 

12: 5   229 

IV2   93 


12:8 


5 


12:9 227,  254 

12:  9-10 254 

12:  28 88 

12:31 93 

13         19.  232 

13 : 1-2 97 

I3:a  227 

'3:7  233 

13: 10 225 

13:  13 so 

14:  2 179 

14:4-5 93 

14 :  14 179 

14: 18 16, 179,  227 

14:  24-25 228 

«4:  26 229 

14:  29-33 228 

14: 32-33 229 

14: 33 236 

15:3 17 

15:  5-8 II 

15:  8-10 210 

is:  9  10 

15:9-10 13 

15:  22 142 

15:30-31 211 

15:32 ,,,,,,,... 260 

275 


INDEX 


I  Corinthians iS:4i lOS 

15:43.44 105,177 

15:44 3,149 

IS:4Q.  SO los 

15:  SO 3,148, 149 

is:  SO-52 177 

15:50-53 5. 172 

15:52 173 

15:53 240 

16:  I    34.  40,  256 

16:  1-4 265 

16:3    41 

16:3-4 69.256 

16:  IS 229,  259,  261 

16:  15-16 227 

16:  16 261 

16:  19 26,  72,  73,  74.  260.  261 

II  Corinthians 1:1-2 88 

1 :  8-10 260 

i:  17 114 

4:2    114 

4:4    3.4 

4:5    266 

4:4-6 2 

4:6   12 

4:  16 225 

4:  17 149 

S:  1-2 149. 172, 173 

5:3 240 

5:4-5 96, 178 

S:  16 89 

S:  16-17 7 

S:  17-18 ISO 

5:  18,  19,  20 122, 139 

5:  19 18, 124, 127 

5:20 194 

S:  21 5. 170 

5:51 97 

6:3    229 

6:  8    114. 185 

7:  I 171 

8-9 34.  257 

8:1    40 

8:  1-4 34 

8:1-5 257 

8:  10 256 

8:  16-24 ■    .  . 256 

8:  20 234 

8:23.  . 88 

9:1-5 34 

9:2 40.  256 

9:2-4 34 

g:  12-14.  •  •  • 256 

9: 13    . 256 

10-13 234 

10:  9-10 253 

10:  10 95 

10:  12-16 25s 

11:3    166 

11:5.13 261 

II :  13 258,  261 

11:  13-15 I ......  I 42,213 

276 


INDEX 


II  Corinthians 11:13-22 51 

11:  14 2 

11:22 187 

11:23-29 137,182 

11:  28-29 74 

11:  31  • 114,  i8s 

12:  I  ff 179 

12:2.4 2 

12:4  2 

12:7    3 

12:  8-9 16 

12: 12 16,  93.  254 

12:12-13 3 

13:14 172 

GaJatians 1:1   210 

1:4  4 

1:11-24 14 

1:13 10 

i:  14 6,  7,8,9,  IS,  161,202 

i:  15 14,  210 

i:iS-i6 207 

i:  16 11,14.16 

1:17 II 

1:18 254 

1:21 254 

^■23 10 

2:2 194 

2:7-8 208 

2:  7-9 28,  29,  74 

2:  11-14 22.186 

2:  15 104. 138. 19s 

2:16 135 

2:19 158 

2:  20 16.92 

3:5 93 

3:8 114 

3:  10-12 120 

-     3:11 120 

3:  17 55.  117 

3:  19 55.  56.  188 

3:22-24... 55 

3:  23 120 

3:  23-24 17, 120 

3:23-25 120 

3:2s 55 

3:  27 240 

3:28 7 

4:3    3,  18 

4: 4    138 

4:6    176 

4:8-11 55.56.243 

4:9    3.18.56 

4:21-31 6 

5:6   97,  127.  204 

5:7   194 

S:  13,  14 204 

5:14 19 

5:14-15 55 

5:  17 148 

5: 19-21 loi.  158 

S:  19-23 164 

5:19-24 ,..,,,,,.. , 127 

277 


INDEX 


Galatians. . 
Ephesiani . 


Philippiaiui . 


Colossians. 


I  Thessalonians . 


S:  22 257 

6:  10 127 

1:4    266 

1:7   •••• 121 

i:  21 22s 

2:2   3 

2: 16 132, 139 

4:  8-12 228 

4:  11-16 93 

4:  24 240 

4:  30 121 

5:2 • 122 

6:6 88 

6:  11-12 151 

6;  12 3,  239 

2:6 S 

2:7  170 

2:8  144 

2:  10 2,183 

2:  lO-ii 90, 188 

2: 16 194 

2: 19-22 26s 

2:  25 88 

3:5 7. 187.  210 

3:6 8, 15.  156.  202 

3:  12 u.  92, 200 

3:  18-19 143 

3:  19 196,  222 

3:20-21 s.  149. 177 

3:  21 3.173.225,240 

4:  1S-18 257 

4:  22 75,262 

1:6 208 

1 :  13 95 

i:  15 127 

1 :  15-17 5. 188 

1 :  16 3. 183 

1 :  19 188 

1 :  19-20 124 

1 :  20,  21 122, 139 

1:24 177 

1:25 94 

1 :  26 220, 266 

1 :  26-28 266 

2:1   74 

2:8 3,18 

2:9 188 

2:  16 342,243 

2:  20 3, 18 

2 :  20-22 242 

3:1    149 

3:5-9 lOI 

3:  5-10 225 

3: 10 335,  340 

3:  II 7 

3:  18,  22 7 

4:9   265 

4:  12 88 

4:  15 261 

1:10 196 

2:4    94 

a:S-6 ,,,,,,,,,,,... 100 

278 


INDEX 


I  Thessalonians 2 :  14-is 187 

2:  14-16 51.211,213,257 

2:16. 186 

2:18 3 

3:11 16,88 

3:13 S 

4:7   197 

4:  11-12 S3 

4:16 3.5 

4:16-17 4 

4517 16, 233 

s:  12 261 

s:  12-13 230 

s:  12-14 33 

s:  14 230 

5: 19-20 229 

II  Thessaloniana i :  8-9 143 

I  Timothy 3:  4,  5*  12 230 

II  Timothy i :  S  265 

1:6  93 

i:iS-i6 73 

a:  12 144 

4: 19 73. 260 

4:  20 35. 26s 

Philemon a 261 

16        26s 

18        143 

Hebrewi 6:  S   254 

7 :  9-10 142 

8:2  253 

12:3   124 

13:22 229 

Jamea 1:1   88 

I  Peter i :  i   208 

a:  6  201 

2:7   201 

2:8  201 

S:  13 27 

II  Peter 1:1   88,208 

I  John 1:9   97 

Jude I        88 

Revelation 17 :  4  ff 236 

21: 1    ISO 

21 :  i-s 178 

Ascension  of  Isaiah 10 :  29-30 3 

Baruch,  Apocalypse  of  .  .  30: 1-3 S 

48:24 107 

SI :  1-4 S 

54:  15.  19 4.142 

82:  2-9 6 

Enoch,  Book  of 1:9   S 

45:4-5 5,6 

45:5   178 

48:2-3.. S 

62:  IS-16 5 

69:4-5 173 

70:  i-a 5 

71:1^ 173 

91 :  16-17 6 

105 :  a   . . . 89 

io8:H'-i2 .,,,,.,,, S 


279 


INDEX 


Enoch,  Secrets  of 7         3 

8:  1,8 2 

20:  I    3. 183 

66:7-8 S 

IV  Esdras 5 :  23-27 107 

6:58 89 

7:28,29 89 

7:  118-119 4, 142 

13:32,37,52 89 

14:9   5,89 

Jubilees 2:  20 89 

30:  20 127 

IV  Maccabees 6:  29 17 

7:  21-22 17 

Psalms  of  Solomon 17        131 

17:  23-46 S 

17:  32 14 

17:41 S 

Testaments  of  the 

1 2  Patriarchs,  Levi ...     3:1    2 

3:6    22s 

3:8    3 

4:4   7.14 

14:4    7,14 

18:  12 6,264 

Judah 24:1    S 

Dan 6:4   9 

Benjamin 3:8 17 

9:  2   14 

10:  S    7 

Clement  of  Rome 

Corinthians 5-6    27 

60-61 32,  236 

Eusebius 

Church  History 2:15:2 27 

2:  25:6 27 

2:25:8 26 

6:  14:  6 27 

Hippolytus 

Ref.  Her 6:15 27 

Ignatius 

To  the  Romans 4:1    27 

Irenaeus 

Ag.Her.., 3:1:1 27 

3:3:2 27 

TertuUian 

Against  Marcion 4:5    ? 27 

S:  14 • 64,66 

Cicero 

Pro  Flacco  ...  .\  .....   28        23 

Josephus 

Antiquities 16:7:1 122 

17:  11:  1 24 

18:3:5 24 

19:5:2-3 25 

20:2:3-4 7 

20:  2:4 7 

War  . 2:6:1 24 

Juvenal 24 

Philo 

To  Caius 23        ^^ 

Allegories i :  33 167 

280 


INDEX 


Philostratus 

Life  of  Apollonius  ....      6:ii 242 

1:8    246 

Suetonius 

Lives  of  the  Emperors, 

Tiberius 36         24 

Claudius 25         25 

28         262 


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now  nearly  nineteen  centuries  old.  During  this  long 
period  it  has  steadily  increased  in  power,  determining  the 
beliefs  and  hopes  and  ideals  of  individuals  and  more  and 
more  of  whole  nations.  Judged  from  any  standpoint,  it 
must  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  master  forces  of 
mediaeval  and  modern  history  and  of  the  present  day. 
Intelligent  men  ought,  it  would  seem,  to  be  acquainted  at 
least  in  outline  with  the  course  of  its  history  through  the 
centuries." 


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Date  Due 

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liil 


BS491.B58  45 

Commentary  on  the  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00006  4156 


